Tales of a Self Insert
by Silver Winged Ninja Seraphim
Summary: Yeah, I'm just a normal girl who wishes fiction was reality. But what happens when no one is home, the dogs start barking at nothing and I decide to make a deal with something that stole my voice? Impulse seems to like to make my decisions.
1. Talking to My Own Voice!

Me: Yes! I'm finally going to do something! I am new to and proud of it! *Slumps down* Okay, not really. I've been going to this cite for a while now but I haven't made an account or done anything 'till now. 

Lloyd: What made you decide to finally do something?

Me: Well, I've been reading a bunch of Tales of Symphonia fanfics and one that really caught me was Grandkids and Tasks of the Spirit by freakyanimegal. It inspired me to write a fanfic! 

Lloyd: You read too much, just like Genis. 

Me: He reads to study, which I never do, while I read to keep myself from being bored. 

Lloyd: You don't study?

Me: Never have and most likely never will!

Lloyd: Then how do you get straight A's?!

Me: I honestly have no idea, especially considering since I sleep in class. *ponders over it*

Lloyd: She's probably going to be thinking about that for a while -_-' 

Me: I own nothing! Although I wish I did. *goes back to thinking* Wait, I do own Sarah, the OC, because she is me! ^-^

~~**~~

As I stepped off the bus onto the sandy ground beneath me, the bus driver, Ms. Nelson, called her good-bye to me. I waved over my shoulder and continued on walking until I got inside the gate at the front of my house. As soon as I stepped inside, I heard the bus start to leave. I once again continued on. My house is a ways from the gate which results in me having a walk of about 100 meters to get to my house. Which I don't complain about because I rather like the walk.

As I neared the tree that marked the halfway point to my house I saw my dog, Samantha aka Sammy, waiting for me. The smile that I got when stepping off the bus widened a bit at the sight of my loyal dog. I looked of to my right to see that bird again. That bird had made a nest on the ground and there were four little camouflaged eggs in the nest, which had yet to hatch. I stopped and stared at the bird, as it stared back at me.

"Geez, seriously, how long is the bird gonna be there?" I questioned, after shaking my head away from the bird. I kept seeing it everyday when I got off the bus.

I kept walking and met up with Sammy. She started jumping around, happy to see me.

"Hey Sammy, how've you been?" I asked. Okay, I admit it, I talk to my pets sometimes, but it's comforting.

Sammy continued to jump around, then she tried to playfully bite me. That's just her way of say, "Welcome back! I missed you! Will you fill my food bowl now?!"

I've had Sammy since she was a puppy. Back then she was a fat, hyperactive puppy who was always eating. That was how she obtained the nickname, Fat Dog. Although, a while after we had gotten her, I noticed how much she looked like a wolf more than a dog. Which is also how she obtained the nickname, from me, Wolf Pup. Some of the kids at school who've seen a picture of her said that she looked like a coyote. But, she's not a wolf or a coyote, she's a dog.

After getting past Sammy and entering my house, I greeted my mom and dad as usual. I then headed to my room and dropped off my bag. I turned on my TV and computer and then laid down on my bed for a few seconds. It was Wednesday and my brother hadn't come on the bus today.

"I wonder what brother is doing. Argh! He's always doing something in town and is never back until around eight! Plus he's suppose to come home on the bus on Wednesdays!" I said with a raised voice to the air while sitting up. I then just flopped back down and said, "Ah, why am I even worrying about it? It's not like he runs some organization like Cruxis. Although that would be awesome!" I then started to daydream about what it would be like if he was running an organization like Cruxis. I then came upon a realization.

"Oh my gosh," I said quickly, sitting up.

"I'd probably have to fight him if he really did run an organization like that. And by doing so, I'd get the shit beaten out of me by him. Why must I be so weak!" I said the last sentence dramatically. I then just stopped and went over to my computer to search for something to do, since I had no homework and I never studied.

Now, would probably be the opportunity to introduce myself instead of typing anymore boring stuff that you don't care about. You probably don't even care about my introduction but, whatever.

My name is Sarah, I'm 13 years old and top of my class. I have wavy brown hair which is tinted red. It goes an inch or two, maybe three, past my waist. I have brown eyes, but one of my friends say my right eye looks black sometimes. I have pale but really nice looking skin. I wear glasses which are blue and no matter what I am always wearing a necklace that my mom gave me. It's on a black cord string, and looks like an exsphere with black strips. Its gem is blue and has a silver rim around. It's rare for me to take it off. I also have a small scare on my forehead. It's just above the end of my eyebrow, the end that's inwards not outwards. It's not really noticeable. I love certain video games, anime, manga, ect. My favorites of the video games are the Tales series, especially Tales of Symphonia, both one and two. I have a very small collection of weapons, which include: Shuriken, different kinds of kunai, a pair of sai, three fans(one small, one medium, and the last one it huge, like Temari's fan from Naruto), a bo staff, a sword that looks cursed, and a wolf pocket knife. Most of these weapons I bought at Tae Kwon Do competitions, which, I may add, I got first places in. Okay, now I'm just gloating, bad Sarah! So anyways, people know not to get me mad when I have something in my hand because anything in my hand I can turn into a weapon. Even a sticky note! No seriously, I did turn a sticky note into a weapon before. My friend gave my a sticky note and I folded it to make it really pointy and then I started poking my friend with it really hard and it left a small mark. Anyways, that's all that I can really think of to tell you about me. So let's get back to my oh so exciting life!

After a while of surfing the web, I got up to get a snack, since I barely ate anything at lunch that day. While I was walking out my eye caught on to a little blue stone sitting on my nightstand that's near the door. I picked it up and started tossing it up and down in my hand while I walked. I have no idea why, I just had the impulse to take it. I use to have a bunch of those little blue stones lying around my room but they slowly disappeared. In other words, I lost them.

As I walked out and to the cabinet to get a small bad of chips I noticed that my mom and dad weren't home.

'Mom probably left to pick up brother and Dad's probably off getting the mail,' I thought, because you see, it's about a 30 minute drive to get into town and you have to drive all the way to the paved road to get the mail, because we live where it's just a dirt road. Also, the reason my dad doesn't walk is because he is 60 years old! My moms 47, 13 years apart.

So, anyways, after I grabbed a bag of chips I heard the dogs start barking. And out of curiosity I went to check what it was. I pocketed the stone and went outside through the back door. I ran to the other side of the deck and jumped down the stairs. I never really used them to go down anyways. I ran to the front of my house and saw nothing. When I saw nothing and continued to hear the dogs barking I decided to follow the barking. It was coming from the little clearing that I use to used to train when I was still in Tae Kwon Do. When I was half way there I stopped to think if I should go back and get a weapon or not. I continued on deciding not to. When I finally got to the clearing I found the dogs but nothing out of the ordinary. As soon as I walked over to them they stopped barking.

"Now what were you guys barking at?" I questioned, looking around. I kept my guard up and let my eyes sweep over the surrounding ground. The most likely reason for the dogs to bark is that there's a snake around.

"You've always wished for a life of excitement right? Well, this is just the beginning," I heard someone say. I jumped at hearing the voice and started looking around the area for it, ready to fight if I had to.

"Always one to never be trusting," the voice said again. That's when I stopped and my eyes widened.

"W-wait a minute… What the hell, that's my voice!" I shouted.

"Oh? So you've finally noticed," It replied.

"The hell?! That's it, I've finally gone insane!" I shouted and started to walk away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You've called yourself that many times, what makes now so different?"

"Um, I'm talking to something that stole my voice and from what I can tell no body?"

"… That's a good point…"

"And now it's agreeing with me!"

"Hey, I'm trying to grant you your wish for a life of adventure," It argued.

I stopped dead in my tracks and asked, "Why would you want to grant me my wish?"

"Because I've heard your cries for something new, something that will allow you to help people."

"I do not cry, I can't even remember the last time I've cried."

"I find that as a good point, but what I was saying was just my way of putting it."

"Okay, yeah, sorry about that."

"There is no need to apologize. Anyways, I want to make a deal with you, if you agree to protect the one that will save the world so that it is insured that that outcome happens, then I will send you to another world for a life of adventure."

"But what about my life here?" I asked, getting worried about what would happen.

"Do not worry. When you return it'll be exactly how you left it. But I warn you, once you commence on the journey, you will not be able to return until it is finished."

I closed my eyes and started to think about. My eyes then snapped open at something.

"What happens if I die?" I asked quickly.

"Well, that would be the end for you, sorry."

"I see," I replied. Something was telling me to accept but then my mind was doubtful.

I had decided to say no, but impulse took me over and said, "Deal."

"Are quite sure?" It asked.

"Yeah," I replied, going along with the impulse. In situations like these, it always seems to take over. And it's always saying the opposite of what I originally decide.

Next thing I knew I blacked out.

When I finally came to, the first thing that I noticed was that my head was laying on something furry, the second, that my neck felt stiff and I felt like I had been to hell and back.

"Argh, I feel like I've been to hell and back. What the hell is going on?!" I said to the air. After saying that, the memory of making that deal with the voice came up.

"Oh yeah, I made a deal with a voice. I wonder where I am? Why'd that stupid voice have to make me feel like shit though?" I muttered. I then realized that I had just insulted my own voice and smacked myself in the forehead.

"I really have to think of what I'm saying before I say it," I reminded myself. I have told myself that many times but never remember to.

I finally sat up and looked down to see what my head was laying on. What I found was something that gave me comfort, my loyal dog, Sammy. Although she had changed, she was now huge, the size of a small horse, she also looked more like a wolf. But there was no way of mistaking the fur color at all.

When I saw that Sammy had changed, I thought that I had changed too. I looked down at myself and sure enough, I had changed. I had skin tight black pants, blue boots that went up to my knees with three buckles on each. Blue fingerless gloves that were the same length as Sheena's would be, but they looked like they were suppose to be longer because they were rolled down a bit, a blue, zipped up, vest that also looked like it was suppose to be longer and have sleeves because it was rolled up, the vest went up to the middle of my neck. I also had what was really common, belts. I had three of them, two crossed over to sort of make an x and then the other just went straight across. I unzipped my vest and saw that I was also wearing a weird shirt. The sleeves were skin tight but the rest was just normal. I then decided that it was for something underneath, and I was right, I had a chain mail vest underneath. After that I zipped up my vest and went to push my hair out of my face. When I did, I noticed that I didn't feel my glasses. They weren't there anymore, sweet! No more worrying about glasses! That's when I noticed my hair kept falling in front of my face. I decided that I'd check that over later when I had a mirror to use. By then the pain and faded away.

I stood up and looked down at myself again and noticed that I had a body that looked like Sheena's only with a smaller bust. I looked like I was 17 or something.

"They skimmed a few years off my life!" I said alarmed.

I sighed and decided to look through what I had in the pouches attached to my belt. I took off my belts and sat down next to my still sleeping dog. The first thing that I noticed was a little rod thing attached to the belt that went straight across, it looked about 9 and ¾ inches. I took it off and examined it. It had the swirly, twisty vine pattern on it. I have no idea what to call it. I noticed a little space in the middle of the rod type thing. I pulled on each end and it opened to reveal two blades. I pulled it apart and saw that each half was exactly the same as the other. The blades looked about a fourth of an inch shorter than the handles which were also sheaths. I sheathed the blades and reattached the weapons to one of my belts.

"Okay, that is an awesome weapon. But I still can't forgive them for skimming a few years off my life," I said and went through the rest of my stuff.

After looking through all of it I had found some shuriken, each having a different amount of points, some red and orange gel things, which I had presumed were apple and orange gels because of my favorite video games, some other potion things, and one of the pouches was full of coins, which I assumed to be the money here.

After looking through it all, I reattached everything and put my belts back on. I looked around at my surrounding and saw that I was in a forest. That's when Sammy finally decided to wake up. I smiled down at her as she got up. When she did I noticed something behind her. I picked it up and unraveled the cloth to find out that the cloth was a brown leather cape and the thing that was wrapped up was my sword that looked curse. The reason I say that is because of the symbol that is on it in six different places. I smiled at it and fastened it to my belt. I then put the cape on, which stopped at mid-thigh. Now that I had everything checked over I looked over at Sammy with a smile. Like I said, she was the size of a small horse.

"Come on, let's go see where we are," I said. I started walking but stopped. My hand immediately flew up to my neck. When my fingers touched what I was looking for, I sighed in relief. My necklace was still there. That's when I remember about the stone.

"I wonder what happened to it," I questioned the air. I turned around and looked down at the ground for it. It was actually still with me. I bent down and picked it up. There was a gold rim around it that spread out slightly into the vine pattern that was on my weapons. It reminded me of an exsphere and key crest. Which gave my the impulse to see if it would attach itself to me. I slightly unzipped my vest and put it just below my collarbone. Much to my surprise, it actually stayed.

"Okay, this just keeps getting cooler," I said. I zipped my vest back up and started walking in the direction I was before. Soon enough, I reached a village. The people standing guard turned their attention to me as I came into view.

"Halt!" shouted one of them, "What is your business here!"

That's when I got a nervous/embarrassed smile on my face. I rubbed the back of my head and replied with a nervous laugh, "I'm kinda lost, what village is this?"

"Iselia," The other guard answered.

"Oh, thanks," I said and dropped my hand. "I'd like to go into the village to restock on items. I'm on journey to see different lands in Sylverant," I explained.

'Oh my gosh, I can't believe I was able to come up with that on the spot,' I thought. I had always been good at coming up with believable lies but never that good.

"Alright then, but your, er, wolf, will have to stay out of the village," The guard replied.

"Sammy's not a wolf, she's a dog," I corrected.

"Right."

I turned towards Sammy and said, "Stay here, I'm gonna go into Iselia to restock, okay?" After saying that Sammy walked over to the fence and laid down against it to go to sleep. "That works," I muttered under my breath. I walked over to head into the village. As I walked past the guards and said, "Thank you."

When I was inside the gates I heard the guards say, "That dog is almost as weird as Lloyd's."

"Yeah."

I chuckled at hearing this and continued onwards.

Me: First chapter up! Sweet!

Lloyd: It's only the first chapter, there's still a lot to go.

Me: Yeah I know, but what's the point in not celebrating an accomplishment?

Lloyd: It's not really an accomplishment.

Me: You're being mean!

Lloyd: You're the one writing this!

Me: Good point! 

Lloyd: Have you had sugar of something?

Me: Maaaybe! *Shifty eyes* It'd be nice if you reviewed! But you don't have to if you don't want to. *waves goodbye*


	2. First battles and Horrible Aim!

Me: I got the second chapter up!

Yuan: And you draged me here why? I haven't even appeared yet!

Me: Because Lloyd came last time, Genis busy practicing magic, Colette hurt herself, Raine slightly scares me, and Kratos is just Kratos.

Yuan: Okay

Me:I want to thank tiger002 for reviewing my last chapter! I hope I fixed at least some of the mistakes.

Yuan: She owns nothing and never will

Me: That's mean!

Yuan: That's what you get for having me come

Me: Good point...

After exiting the village I ran into my first battle with a zombie. In the game they're not so bad but in reality, they're really nasty.

"Okay, that's just nasty," I said to myself. I reached into one of my pouches to grab one of the shuriken I had. I really did not want to touch it.

I threw the shuriken at the zombie as it advanced towards me. The weapon went right past the zombie, not even coming close.

"Ah crap! My aim is even worse than is was before!" I shouted and dodged just in time to prevent getting hit by the icky zombie.

I pulled out my sword and went at the zombie. I decided to go the Resident Evil way and aim for the head. It seems luck was not on my side. Apparently, zombies here are smarter and stronger than given credit for. The zombie had dodged, grabbed the blade of my sword and yanked it away from me.

"Oh crap!" I said a bit panicked. I then reached for the last weapon that might help me, my dagger-like weapon that I had no idea what to call. I pulled it apart and ran at the zombie, again, aiming for the head. This time I actually hit and killed it. And nothing got on me! Sweet! I didn't care that I had killed the zombie because it tried to kill me first. It was self-defense.

"Wow, I guess playing Resident Evil actually helps," I muttered to myself. I then cleaned off my blade on the grass. The zombie had disappeared and left nothing.

"Hmm, maybe in reality, you don't actually get anything," I said and sheathed my weapon, putting it back. I walked over to my sword and found it in pieces.

"Aw man, this was my favorite and only sword. Maybe I can get another? Nah, this one was too special, my dad had given me the money to buy it," I said to myself, "I've really got to stop talking to myself."

Okay, little summary on my weapons. I might have had a collection, but I never used them. Note to self: first thing to do when I get back home, learn how to use a sword! My sword wasn't made out of very sturdy metal, stainless steel, so I was kind of expecting something like that to happen but that suspicion was from when I was still on Earth. I'm guessing iron would have been best hear. Anyways, I've always had the worse aim so I have no idea why I even have shuriken. Maybe I should just get rid of them. I've never in my left have use a sword before. Probably the only reason I was able to defeat that zombie was because those weapons were close range and I was only taught how to fight hand to hand.

I finally got to the Martel Temple and heard the sounds of fighting.

'At least I can still join the fight,' I thought and ran up the stairs.

When I got to the top I was just in time to see Renegades ganging up on poor little Genis.

'This is good opportunity,' I thought. I rushed over and started fighting off of instinct. Thank you Tae Kwon Do!

I side kicked one of the Renegades into another, knocking two out of the three down. I elbowed the third then rammed my fist into the Renegades gut to send him stumbling back.

I bit my lip to keep myself from shouting in pain. I had hit the funny bone in my arm and the Renegade I had punched must have been wearing armor. After getting over the pain I looked over at Genis.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Y-yeah, thanks," He replied. I smiled slightly and nodded. I turned back to the Renegades and pulled out my dagger-like weapon.

"H-hey, could you cover me while I cast?" Genis asked.

"Sure," I replied while unsheathing my weapon. That's when Genis started casting and the Renegades charged.

I ran forward and decided to make them more vulnerable. I swung my weapon upwards at one of the Renegades and detached their helmet. With my other hand I used the butt of my weapon and knocked the Renegade, as hard as I could, in the side of the head. That successfully knocked him unconscious, or killed him. I wasn't sure and I wasn't about to check. I still had two Renegades left and I doubt they'd fall for the same trick.

I turned to the Renegade on my right and kneed him in the gut. While he was distracted by the pain I rammed the butt of my weapon under his chin. I wasn't sure but I thought I had heard a snap. I cringed when I thought I heard it. The Renegade stumbled back then fell. Just when I was about to turn around to face the last Renegade, I felt a really heavy weight hit my back. I stumbled forward and almost fell over gasping at the pain from it. I used my foot to kick around so that it land on the other side of my other foot and gave me the force to swiftly turn around and hit the Renegade with as much force as I could get in the neck. The Renegade fell and didn't get back up. I wasn't sure if he was dead or not.

I fell over onto my knees and started breathing heavily. It was a good thing I had chain mail on or that blow to the back would have killed me. I then heard Genis shout "Fire ball!" It zoomed and hit a Renegade Lloyd was dealing with. I then forced myself up and saw Genis run over to me.

"Are you alright?!" He asked panicked.

I smiled weakly and nodded, "I'll be fine, the blade didn't get to my skin." I then reached into one of my pouches and pulled out an apple gel. I ate it and felt a bit better. At least it was well enough to continue fighting. I looked around and the Renegades were all down. I realized then, that I was going to have to face Vidar.

'Damn,' I thought as he walked out. He was smaller than the game portrayed, but still big.

"Do not get in our way!" He boomed swinging his weapon around, a spike ball and chain.

'This is going to be painful,' I thought. I readied my weapons and got ready to charge.

"It'd be best if you started casting right now," I told Genis. He nodded and started casting what I believed would be Aqua Edge from the color of the runes beneath his feet.

Lloyd was about to get hit with Vidar's weapon. I ran up and grabbed the back of his shirt to pull him out of the weapons range.

I was never one for upper body strength so I was wondering how the hell I was able to pull Lloyd out of the way. I decided to block it off and go with the answer of adrenaline rush.

"Thanks, but who are you?" Lloyd asked.

"This is no time for talking," I replied and charged forward.

All of our attacks seemed useless. Not even Genis' spells worked. Eventually we were all hit and sent back to where the stairs were. The injury I had gotten from one of the first Renegades was throbbing with pain.

Just when Vidar was about to finish us off, Kratos came just in time to stop the on coming attack.

Lloyd looked up and asked, "Who are you?"

"…Get out of the way," He replied and turned his head slightly to look at Lloyd then back to Vidar.

I grabbed some apple gels from one of the pouches attacked to my belt and gave them to Lloyd, Colette, and Genis. I ate one myself and got ready to go back to fighting.

"Thank you!" Colette thanked.

I nodded and said to all three, "Come on, don't let this guy show you up!"

They all nodded and we joined in the fight. This time, it was much easier, but the pain in my back was still throbbing. It didn't take long for us to finish the battle.

"Amazing!" Colette gasped.

"This guy's incredibly strong!" Genis agreed.

"…Y…yeah. I…I suppose so…" Lloyd said, not wanting to agree.

Kratos looked over us and asked, "…Is everyone alright? Hmm… no one seems to be hurt."

'Looks like I'm pretty good at hiding pain,' I thought because the pain in my back was still throbbing.

Genis looked over at me and asked, "Is that injury better? You took a pretty hard blow to the back."

"Don't worry I'm fine," I replied, then cringed at the pain in my back. For some reason, I don't like people to worry over my injuries or pain so I usually hide it.

"Fine, huh?" Genis asked.

"First aid," I heard Kratos say. I then felt the pain fade.

"Thank you," I said turning to face Kratos. He nodded his head and turned towards the temple.

'I'm not sure if that means I'm on his good side or not,' I thought, not wanting to be on his bad side.

"Is that an exsphere?" Lloyd asked, spotting Kratos' exsphere. Kratos just ignored him.

Phaidra walked up to us and said, "How can I ever thank you for saving the chosen?"

"…I see, so this girl is the next chosen," Kratos said, turning to face Colette.

Colette smiled and said, "That's right! I have to go accept the oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trail now."

"What trail?" Lloyd asked.

"The monsters, I assume," Kratos murmured. "An evil presence radiates from inside this chapel."

Phaidra nodded, "Yes, that is correct. The chosen is to receive judgment from heaven. But, the priests that were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians."

Lloyd stepped forward. "Then I'll take on the job of protecting Colette."

"Lloyd? I would be uneasy with just you."

Kratos turned to look at Lloyd and asked, "Your name… is Lloyd?"

"Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name? Which reminds me, you haven't introduced yourself yet either," Lloyd turned to me.

"I am Kratos, a mercenary. As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the chosen."

"I'm Sarah, I'm just a traveler but I'd be happy to help the chosen," I said with a smiled. I remembered at that moment that it's best to make a good first impression.

"Oh my, you are too young to be traveling on your own," Phaidra said, a bit concerned.

"Really? I've been traveling on my own since I was 13," I replied. Not a complete lie.

"That's quite young to be on your own. But I don't see any harm in allowing you to go with the Chosen for now," Phaidra said then turned to Kratos, "And also, I have little choice so please be of service."

"I'm going too!" Lloyd cut in.

"Lloyd, you'll only get in the way. Be a good boy and go home," Kratos said.

"Gotcha," Lloyd said, "Then I'll just follow you on my own."

"You're a stubborn kid. Fine, do as you wish." Kratos said and turned to walk into the temple.

"Alright! C'mon Genis!" Lloyd said, excitedly.

"I'm going too?" Genis asked.

"Of course!"

"Let's go then!" Colette chirped and followed.

"This isn't a field trip you know," Kratos called over his shoulder.

'If it was, Lloyd's entire class would be here and Raine would be lecturing everyone to death,' I thought as I followed the others in, 'I wonder how Sammy is doing.'

* * *

Back at the entrance I had gone through to get into Iselia an over grown dog also known as Sammy was still sleeping against the fence.

* * *

Me:That's all for now! Please review!

Yuan: Don't

Me: I'm not inviting you anymore.

Yuan: I'm fine with that.

* * *


	3. The Martel Temple

Me: Sorry for posting this late. The document manager wasn't working yesterday so I couldn't post this. Unfortunately, I have no one here to help me right now. Everyone was busy, even the characters for Dawn of The New World! Anyways, thank all that have reviewed! The reviews get me off my lazy ass to write! I own nothing and never will! Except Sarah, because she is me.

* * *

When we got to the entrance chamber the younger group looked around amazed by it. I looked around interested.

'It looks like it does in the game. I wonder if we'll have to fight the golems,' I thought while inspecting one of the walls. There was dust floating in the air, so I was hoping it wouldn't affect me. I heard the conversation with Kratos and Lloyd about Lloyd's sword skills.

"Sarah," I heard Kratos call. I turned around to face him.

"What is it?"

"Are your skills self-taught as well?"

"Yes," I replied.

"It'd be best if you read the book I gave Lloyd as well."

I nodded my head, keeping quiet. At least it wasn't a hard blow to my already low self-esteem.

We continued onwards only to be stopped by that barrier thing.

"I think the Sorcerer's Ring can get rid of it," Colette said.

"The Sorcerer's Ring?" Lloyd asked.

"It's an artifact of the Martel Temple," Genis answered.

"That's right, it's kept in the lower level of the temple," Colette said.

"Right! Then let's go get it!" Lloyd excitedly cheered.

So then we walked back to the entrance chamber and went down the hallway that was now on our right. On our way we had a few fights with the monsters, but we easily defeated them. By then, the dust was starting to effect me. After starting to cough a few times, I decided to just put my hand over the lower part of my face.

"Hey Sarah, are you okay?" Genis asked, when he noticed.

"I'm fine, it's just the dust was starting to make me cough," I replied.

"Are you allergic to it?"

"No, it's just that there's some things that cause me to cough easily."

"Like what?"

"Certain types of spicy foods, and dust."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's one of the reasons I don't eat anything spicy. I just can't stand the smell of it."

"That's kind of strange."

"Yeah, especially considering everyone else in my family likes spicy foods."

"So how big is your family?"

"I have my mom and my dad, and three older brother."

"Must be hard with so many people who like something you hate."

"Not really, you learn to live with it after a while."

The conversation was easy because all of that was true. I didn't want to lie any more than I had to.

It was silent after that but Genis looked like he wanted to ask one more question. He looked like he was wondering if he should ask or not.

"If there's something you want to ask me then ask," I said.

"I was wondering, why you've been traveling on your own since you were 13," Genis said, well, more like muttered. Looks like I had to lie here. There was no way to tell the truth. I decided to go with something about my brother.

"I've been looking for my older brother. When he was 16 he left to travel and took me with him. A few days into the journey, we were separated. I can't remember how though. I haven't seen any sign of him since, not even back home," I replied, trying to act the part.

"Oh, sorry for asking," Genis said, probably scolding himself in his head for asking that. Apparently I was a good actress because Genis fell for it.

"Nah, it's okay, because I know I'll see him again some day," I replied, trying to make him feel better.

That's where our conversation ended because we finally reached the bottom level of the temple.

The floor was actually transparent like in the game. It gave me the sense that I'd fall through it at any time. The holes in there ground were there too. Note to self: Watch the floor.

"Look! There's something glowing!" Genis called as he walked over to the edge of the transparent floor.

"Careful, you don't want to fall," I said as I walked over with everyone else.

"Let's go see it!" Lloyd grinned. No one had noticed that Colette had wandered off. Not even me, I was too preoccupied with making sure I didn't fall or misstep. Which I have a tendency to do. Gravity hates me, or in this case it would be Gnome.

"What's this?" Colette asked.

Everyone turned around and saw Colette right next to one of the golems. Wow, I don't think you can get anymore air-headed than that. No offence.

"Look out!" Kratos charged forward while unsheathing his sword.

I pulled out my weapon and ran forward. When I unsheathed it I also slashed the golem. Wow, I wasn't expecting to actually damage the golem with a weapon. I back-stepped a few times to avoid being hit by the golem. The others had already joined in so it wasn't long before the golem was defeated.

The golem turned into a block. I'm not going to say rock because that's what it was in the first place.

"It turned into a rock!" Colette said.

"Wasn't it a rock to begin with?" I said.

That's when Colette tripped and pushed the rock down one of the holes. The rock filled the space in the path way below.

"I see."

"I get it."

"Kinda expected."

Kratos, Genis and I all said.

"Get what?" Lloyd asked, not understanding.

"The golem will help us fill the missing spaces to get to the Sorcerer's Ring," I explained. That's when another golem appeared.

"Let's defeat it and drop it down below!" Genis exclaimed.

We attacked the golem and defeated it easily. I tried to make sure that the golem never got to my back. The key word here is "tried". I've never had to gaurd my back before because during sparring it was a foul to hit the back. And if you got three you automatically lost the match. So, anything having to do with the back whether it was guarding of attacking, I was ignorant about it.

After fixing the pathway we walked over to the Sorcerer's Ring.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

"It's the Sorcerer's Ring! Now we can take down the barrier!" Colette cheered.

"Cool! I wanna try!" Lloyd grinned and got the ring.

"Okay!" Colette said.

So, after that, we went all the way back to the barrier. Lloyd used the Sorcerer's Ring to take down the barrier and got bored with it afterwards. We walked to the teleportation panel and teleported to the upper level of the temple.

"This appears to be the top floor." Kratos said.

"Then that thing there must be the Cruxis Crystal!" Lloyd said, looking at an object that was floating above the altar.

When he said "Cruxis Crystal", the thought of my brother running an organization like that reappeared in my head. It'd be really weird if he did run an organization like that.

"That's right! They say I was born with that in my hand," Colette chirped.

The Cruxis Crystal shone brighter and a light descended down. Remiel appeared and looked down at us. I didn't like this guy at all.

"W-What is that?" Lloyd gasped.

"An angel I would assume," Kratos answered.

'Angel my ass,' I thought.

"Then… is that Colette's real father?" Genis asked.

" I am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis, here to guide Colette, daughter of the Mana Lineage, on her journey to heaven as the 7th chosen," Remiel began with his idiotic speech, "The time had come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world."

The Cruxis Crystal floated towards Colette at Remiel's command. It then attached it's self around her throat.

"From this moment on, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration," Remiel continued, "We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylverant!"

The Tower of Salvation, more like death, suddenly appeared. It was clearly visible from one of the windows. Everyone looked out at it.

"…So, that's the Tower of Salvation," Lloyd said. I couldn't help but mentally correct Lloyd by thinking death instead of salvation.

"Now the world will be saved!" Genis chirped.

'This world maybe, but not Tethe'alla,' I thought, 'I'm being very pessimistic right now.'

"Chosen of Regeneration, Colette! Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands!" Remiel commanded.

"I humbly accept this task." Colette recited.

"…Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated," Remiel said.

"Thank you. I swear on my life that I will regenerate the world," Colette said.

"First head south, to the seal of fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land," Remiel commanded.

"Yes, lord Remiel," Colette replied humbly.

Remiel started to fly away but he was interrupted by Colette.

"Wait! Please wait!" Colette cried, "Are you really my fa-"

Remiel cut her off, "Offer your prayers at the seal of fire, understood? My beloved daughter Colette?"

"F-father! So you really are my true father!"

"I await you at the next seal Colette… my daughter," The idiotic angel then disappeared.

There was a pause and Lloyd decided to go up and talk to everyone.

I looked out the window at the Tower of Death… er… Salvation. I was actually amazed by it's structure. It made me wonder how it could be so tall, yet not topple over. Maybe it was just an illusion?

"Its really cool, huh?" Lloyd said from beside me. I was so lost in thought that it made me jump slightly. Nothing noticeable though.

"Yeah, it does look cool… I wonder, just how tall is it?" I replied.

"Well, it's suppose to reach up to heaven so who knows."

"Must be a long walk," I put in for a joke.

Lloyd laughed at that and said, "No kidding!"

He then left to talk with anyone else he hasn't talked to.

I walked over to Colette because I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her yet.

"Hey Colette," I greeted.

"Hi Sarah!"

"Do you feel any different now that you're officially the chosen?"

"No, not really."

"Chosen, you've received the oracle, let us leave now," Kratos cut in.

"Okay, why don't you come with us Sarah?" Colette asked.

"Of course," I replied.

Colette turned to Lloyd and Genis and said, "Thanks for coming along you two. Please stop by my house later!"

Kratos had already lest and Colette stepped on the teleportation panel next.

"Bye guys! Hopefully we'll see each other again before I leave Iselia," I said and stepped onto the teleportation panel.

I appeared on the ground level of the temple and Colette was waiting for me.

"Thanks for waiting," I said.

"Of course, were friends now, right?" Colette chirped.

"Yeah, definitely," I replied, smiling. We then followed Kratos out of the temple.

"So where are you from? I think it'd be best to get to know each other!" Colette said.

"I was born in Triet and lived there until I was five, then my family moved to Luin," I answered off the top of my head.

"Wow, that's a long move."

"I know, I don't really get why we moved so far away in the first place."

"Did you ever ask?"

"Yeah, my parents said it was to protect me, which I kinda get since there are more monsters around Triet than Luin, but the monsters never enter the towns. Also, the monsters are stronger around Luin."

We continued to talk about ourselves so that we could get to know each other better. I actually found out that I was quite fond of the blond. She was just really nice, I was starting to like it here much better than Earth. I mean, in just one day I had already made three friends while back on Earth, it would take years for me to even make one.

"What's that?" Colette asked, pointing at something shinning. She ran off to go see what it was. We were close to the village entrance right now.

I ran after her and stopped.

"It's a sword," I heard Colette say. I looked down and saw it was my sword.

"That would be mine," I pointed out.

"It is?"

"Yeah, when I heard that there were Desians at the temple I decided to go help. But a zombie attack and it broke my sword. I was in a rush so I left it."

"Would this be your's as well?" Kratos asked, walking up to me with my shuriken.

"Yes," I replied.

"It seems you know how to use many weapons," Kratos said, handing me my shuriken.

"No, I don't know how to use a sword and I have horrible aim," I replied.

"Then why so you carry around a sword and those other weapons?" Colette asked.

"Because the oldest of my three brothers bought me the shuriken, the weapon Kratos found, and my dad bought me that sword. It's just for good luck," I replied. That was not a lie.

"Oh, maybe Dirk can fix your sword, he's dwarf and Lloyd's adoptive dad," Colette said.

"I hope so, this sword is one of the most precious items I have," I said. I took off my cape and laid it on the ground. I then started putting the pieces on it. After that I wrapped it up and attached it to one of my belts.

We then continued on to Colette's house.

* * *

Me: I'd be nice if you reviewed!


	4. Understanding Sammy

**Me: This chapter is really long. **

**Genis: Yeah it is.**

**Me: I thought I was doing this on my own.**

**Genis: I finished particng magicand thought I'd help.**

**Me: Thank you! **

**Genis: No problem. She owns nothing.**

* * *

When we got to Colette's house, I thought it looked really cute. I mean the garden out front and everything. I really wanted to draw it, but I couldn't, because sadly, I didn't have my sketch pad.

We were sitting around the table discussing the Regeneration Journey. It didn't take long for the discussion to move to who will be going on the Journey with Colette. I was starting to get nervous at this point. I wasn't sure if they would allow me or not.

They were just about to finish when Colette spoke up.

"Um, excuse me," Colette said.

"Chosen, what is it?" the mayor asked.

"Well, I just wanted to ask if Sarah could come along," Colette replied. I looked up at Colette surprised.

"Colette?" I asked.

"We're friends now, right?"

"Y-yeah," I smiled.

"Why would you want to take this girl with you?" the mayor asked stiffly.

"Because she's my friend, and people have been saying she's too young to travel on her own. But she's been trying to find her brother. So I thought that if she comes with us than she won't have to be alone and she can might be able to find her brother while traveling with us," Colette explained.

"Chosen, are you sure?" the mayor asked. He looked like he really didn't want me to come.

"Yes," She replied.

There was a pause. It looked like everyone knew that the mayor absolutely did not want me to go. We were all waiting to see if his want for me not to go was strong enough to want to go against the chosen's wishes.

"Alright, fine," the mayor said. He cracked, he couldn't go against the chosen.

I looked around and saw that nobody was about to object. Well, Kratos might have wanted to but I couldn't tell.

'Wow, this is way too easy. Something has got to be up. There's no way that it would be this easy to join Colette on the Regeneration Journey. Or, maybe it is. I'm gonna stop before I give myself a headache thinking about this,' I thought.

"Sarah, would it be okay with you to travel with Colette?" Phaidra asked.

"Of course it would be," I replied, smiling.

"That settles it then, we shall entrust the protection of the Chosen to Kratos, Raine, and Sarah," The mayor announced.

"I have no objections," Kratos said.

'I was sure he'd say something about me coming along,' I thought.

"Thank you so much for your help earlier!" Colette chirped, looking towards the door.

I turned around and saw Lloyd and Genis had walked in.

"Oh, your back! Thank you for your assistance earlier! Please accept this small thanks," Phaidra said and handed them the collector's book.

"Thank you" Genis said.

"Thanks Phaidra. Say, were you talking about the world regeneration journey just now?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes," She answered.

"Wow! I want to go to! I wanna see Colette regenerate the world!"

"If Raine is going, I want to go too!" Genis said determinedly.

"No, you'll only get in the way," Kratos said.

'Well, that's one way to shoot 'em down,' I thought.

"Wh…what?!" Lloyd gaped.

"The battles at the chapel were nothing compared to what awaits us. Children need to stay home," Kratos explained.

"Then how come Sarah get's to go?!" Lloyd asked.

'That… sounded like an insult,' I thought.

"Because she has experience in traveling," Kratos said.

'Is that why he didn't say anything? Oh well, it works,' I thought.

"Kratos is absolutely right. Now then, we still have things to discuss. You two should go on home," The mayor said.

Lloyd glared at Kratos then stormed out slightly embarrassed. Genis tailed behind. Colette rushed out after them and I followed behind.

"Please wait!" Colette called after them.

Colette was going to run up to them but she lost her balance and fell. I helped her up and she dusted herself off.

"I'm sorry," Colette said.

"It's not like it's your fault," Lloyd replied.

"Oh yeah… I'm sorry," Colette said. I sighed but then reminded myself that I also slightly had that problem of over apologizing.

"Listen! Ah, never mind," Lloyd sighed.

"Oh yeah, happy birthday, Colette!" Genis said.

Lloyd looked puzzled at this. He really needs to get a calendar and mark the dates.

"I bake you some cookies. If I knew you were leaving tomorrow, I would have made something a little more special, but…" Genius trailed.

"No, no, I love your cookie! Thank you very much!" Colette said as Genis handed her the cookies.

"So what about you, Lloyd? You promised to make her a necklace, right?" Genis asked.

"…Uh…heh…" Lloyd said nervously, trying to think up an excuse.

"…Don't tell me you forgot," Genis said, disappointedly

"…Uh, It's…it's almost done. Uh, I'll give it to you… tomorrow, before you leave. I swear!" Lloyd said.

"Really? I'm so happy! As soon as I find out when we're leaving, I'll go to your house to let you know," Colette chirped.

"Isn't it going to be dangerous?" Lloyd asked.

"I'm the Chosen, remember? I'll be fine. See you later, then." Colette said and went back inside.

"Hey Lloyd, can you wait for me. My sword's blade is broken and Colette said that your dad might be able to fix it," I said.

"Sure, I'll wait," Lloyd said with a smile.

"Thanks," I replied and walked back inside. When I walked back in everyone was ready to continue the discussion.

"Excuse me, but is the rest of the discussion something I need to stay to hear?" I asked.

"No, but why?" Colette asked.

"I have something to check on and I need to ask Dirk about fixing my sword's blade," I replied.

"Oh, then it's okay if you leave. It's not very important, just the time we're leaving," Colette said.

"Okay, then I'll take my leave," I said and walked out.

Lloyd and Genis were waiting for me out side.

"Hey guys, the rest of the discussion isn't too important," I said.

"Cool, is that your sword, wrapped up in the cloth?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah, I wrapped it up so I wouldn't lose the pieces," I replied.

"We're going to stop by Genis' house first, so that he could pick some stuff up."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the entrance because I have to pick up supplies at one of the shops."

"Alright, see ya!"

I waved and walked over to the shops. I stopped in the item shop first.

"Hey it's you again! I heard you went to the Martel Temple and helped the chosen," The shop owner said.

'Oh yeah, I came in here before the oracle,' I thought.

"Yeah, I helped Colette. I'm also going on the Journey of Regeneration with her," I replied.

"Really? Never expected the mayor to let a traveler go with her."

"It was at Colette's request."

"I see, that amazing."

I nodded and picked up a back pack. I walked up to the counter and set it down.

"I'd also like five apple gels and five orange gels. How much will all of this be?" I asked.

The man nodded and took out the gels.

After paying for the items I put the gels in the bag and left to another shop. I bought food for the journey, making sure to buy enough food for Sammy. I packed all the I bought into the bag then headed for the entrance.

When I got there I saw Lloyd being tackled by Noishe. I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

"Noishe get off!" Lloyd laughed as he pushed the protozoan off.

"Hey guys!" I greeted as I walked over to them, smiling.

"Hey Sarah! This is my dog Noishe!" Lloyd said. I looked over at Noishe and saw that he was as big as Sammy.

"Hi Noishe," I said.

I put my hand out to Noishe and he sniffed it. He then went up to me and licked my face. I laughed slightly and wiped my face.

"That's weird, Noishe doesn't usually like strangers," Lloyd said as he walked over.

"Huh, Really?" I asked. Then something clicked in my mind. It was true, but I had never met Noishe.

'Shouldn't he have run off? This is weird,' I thought.

"Anyways, let's go. I'm sure Dad can fix your sword," Lloyd said.

I nodded and we walked out of the village with Noishe and Genis following behind. I stopped a few steps out of the gate.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Lloyd asked.

I turned around to the fence and saw that Sammy wasn't there anymore.

"Where's Sammy?" I asked.

"Who?"

Just then, I was pounced on by the over grown dog that is Sammy. She just sat on my stomach looking very triumphant.

"Ha-ha, very funny Sammy. Now get off, your too heavy!" I said.

Sammy got off and I got up. I then turned to Genis and Lloyd.

"This is my dog and traveling companion Sammy," I introduced.

"Looks like your not alone in that category Lloyd," Genis said.

"What's that suppose to mean!" Lloyd asked.

"It means we both have over grown, weird dogs Lloyd." I replied.

"Are you sure Sammy's not a wolf?" Genis asked.

"Positive."

We then continued walking and I strapped the bag I bought to Sammy's back.

"So how long have you had Sammy?" Lloyd asked.

"Since I was 13. My aunt got her for me when she heard that I was leaving home to travel. Back then Sammy was just a puppy," I replied.

"Does she bite?" Genis asked.

"Are you an enemy?" I asked.

"Of course not!" Genis shouted.

"Then there's your answer," I replied.

Genis went up to Sammy and when he was close enough, Sammy licked his face.

"Ew!" Genis shouted.

"That's just a sign that she trust you, Genis, so get over it," I said.

"So, how good are your sword skills?" Lloyd asked.

"They suck. I don't know how to use a sword," I replied.

"Then why do you have it with you?" Genis asked.

"Because my dad bought me this sword when I was twelve. It's not really meant for fighting, it's more of a good luck charm," I answered.

"Must be really special then," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, it's one of the most important things to me, along with my pendant," I replied, pointing to the small, sliver rimed blue gem.

"It looks really nice. Why is that important to you?" Lloyd asked.

"Because my mom gave it to me when I was twelve," I answered.

"Your lucky," Lloyd said.

"Huh? Why?" I asked.

"Because you have both your parents and brothers and other family that cares about you," Lloyd said.

"My parents are dead, and so are Lloyd's," Genis said.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"What are you apologizing for, it's not like you could have done anything," Lloyd replied.

"Sorry," I said.

"Quite apologizing," Lloyd said.

"So-," I cut myself off before I continued.

There was a pause, then Lloyd and Genis started laughing.

"W-what's so funny?!" I asked.

"You reminded us of Colette," Genis answered.

They finally stopped laughing and we continued on.

After a while of silence, Noishe started to whine.

"Huh? Hey, Noishe, what wrong?" Lloyd asked.

We were all puzzled by this until I remember that Noishe didn't like monsters.

"Ah, that's right. Noishe doesn't like this place," Genis said

"He'll never go near places like this that have lot's of monsters. Even though you hardly ever see monsters bigger than him," Lloyd said.

Noishe whined again and ran off. Sammy followed behind.

"Sammy!" called after her.

"Ah, he ran off again. Fine, do what you want, Noishe," Lloyd said.

"This is really weird, Sammy's never run off before," I said.

We got to the split in the road that lead to the human ranch and Lloyd's house.

'Oh crap, I didn't realize it until now but I just roped myself into the human ranch part. Ah crap, you've got to be kidding me, why didn't I remember 'till now?!' I yelled at myself in my head.

"Here's my stop," Genis said and turned towards the human ranch.

"At the Desian human ranch? Doesn't going there violate the non-aggression treaty?" Lloyd asked.

"The Desians already attacked the temple!" Genis argued.

"Alright, but I'm worried about you going alone, so I'm going with you," Lloyd replied.

I sighed and said, "I'll go too."

"Are you sure?" Genis asked.

"Yeah, they can't really do anything because I don't live here. I'm just worried about you two getting in trouble," I replied.

"Okay, thanks you guys," Genis said.

"No problem," Lloyd and I said in unison.

We walked up to the left of the human ranch. We stayed low so the Desians wouldn't see us. We got to a wired fence and stopped. Genis looked through the fence then smiled.

"Marble!" He called, making sure to keep his voice low.

The old woman turned around towards us and walked over. She had a kind looking face.

"Genis! Are those your friends?" She asked, looking at Lloyd and I.

"Yeah, I'm Lloyd."

"My name's Sarah," I greeted.

"I'm pleased to meet both of you," She replied, smiling.

"Marble, did you see it? There was an oracle!" Genis cheered.

"Yes I did. I saw the tower of Salvation. Now the Chosen's journey of regeneration can finally begin. I hope it is successful this time," Marble said.

"The last Chosen failed, right?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes. I heard the Chosen was killed by Desians during the journey," Marble answered.

"I wonder if Colette will be all right?" Genis said.

"Let us pray to Martel. May she guide the chosen on a safe journey," Marble said.

"Hey Sarah, since your going on the journey with Colette, you'll make sure she's safe, right?" Lloyd asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"…Hey grams-" Lloyd started.

"Her name's Marble!" Genis corrected.

The exsphere on Marbles right hand briefly glowed.

"…Marble. Isn't that an Exsphere?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, is that what this is called? They placed it on me shortly after I came here," Marble explained.

"Yeah, that's defiantly an Exsphere. But there's no Key Crest on it. An Exsphere with out a Key Crest is dangerous," Lloyd said.

"What's a Key Crest? And how is it dangerous?" Genis asked.

"Attaching an Exsphere directly to your skin supposedly makes you sick. But ironically, it's useless unless you attach it directly to four skin. So in order to prevent it from making you sick, you carve a spell into a special ore and use that as a mount for the Exsphere. That's the Key Crest," Lloyd explained.

"You're very knowledgeable," Marble commented.

"But it looks like Marble's Exsphere doesn't have a mount at all," Genis said.

"Something you should expect from a human ranch. Human ranches never give their prisoners Key Crests," I explained.

"How do you know that?" Lloyd asked.

"There's a lot of stuff to pick up when traveling," I replied.

"So you know about Exsphere and Key Crests?" He asked.

"Of course. I have an Exsphere and Key Crest after all," I said, unzipping my vest just enough to show the Exsphere and Key Crest.

"Lloyd, can you do something about Marble's Exsphere?" Genis asked.

"If the charm was the only thing needed, I could carve one myself, but there's nothing I can do without the inhibitor ore that acts as a mount," Lloyd said.

"There has to be something you can do, Lloyd!" Genis responded.

"It's not as easy as you think. Key Crest are dwarven technology," Lloyd defended.

"Your dad's a dwarf! Please ask him for help, Lloyd!" Genis asked.

"Fine, fine. I'll ask him," Lloyd gave in.

"Alright! That's why I like you, Lloyd," Genis said happily.

"Please don't trouble yourself," Marble said, not wanting to cause anyone any trouble.

"Hey, old had! What the hell are you doin' over there?!" one of the Desians shouted.

"Oh, no! The Desians! Run away, you three! Hurry!" Marble urged.

"But who knows what they might do to you," Lloyd said.

"We know that, but what can we do? If the Desians find out we're here, they'll just think about what they'll do to Marble and the people of the village!" Genis said.

"That's right. You must go," Marble said.

"I'm sorry, grams!" Lloyd said.

"Sorry!" Genis said.

"I'm so sorry," I said.

All three of us hid in the bushes to wait for the Desians to leave. We heard the entire conversation the Desians had about Marble. After they left to take her to the back we came out of hiding.

"Oh, this doesn't look good. They're taking her to the back," Lloyd said.

"But what can we do?" Genis asked.

"There's gotta be something we can do. Let's find higher ground where we can see what's going on in there," Lloyd said.

"I saw a cliff ledge on our way in here. We should be able to use that," I said and led them over to the cliff ledge.

When we got there, it was an easy jump for Lloyd and I, even though I kept loosing my balance and almost falling. We had to help Genis up an we finally got to higher ground.

Marble was continuously getting whipped by the Desians.

"She's…" Genis trailed.

"…We've gotta save her!" Lloyd said.

"I agree!" I replied nodding my head.

"But how?!" Genis asked.

"You attack the Desians from here with magic," Lloyd said.

"What?! Aren't we going to get in trouble?!" Genis asked.

"We don't have a choice! Afterwards, Sarah will help you down and you two will hide among the bushes and make your way back to the village. I'll act as a decoy," Lloyd said.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't it be better if I was the decoy? I mean, I'm leaving tomorrow," I said.

"No, I don't want you getting hurt," Lloyd said. I nodded my head understanding.

'Wow, no one's ever said something like that to me. I'm usually the one in Lloyd's place,' I thought.

"But that'll put you in danger!" Genis cried.

"Don't worry, I'll head down the cliff so they don't see my face, then I'll run in the opposite direction from the village," Lloyd explained.

Genis thought about to for a brief moment.

"…Okay!" Genis agreed.

"Be careful, Lloyd," I said.

Genis took out his kendama and launched three fireballs at the Desians. Each fireball hit it's mark.

"What the?!" Shouted one of the Desians.

Lloyd jumped from the ledge and got the Desians attention.

I grabbed Genis and jumped down the ledges. I then let Genis go and we hid in the bushes. We waited for Lloyd to take the Desians away from our hiding spot so that we could sneak out behind their backs. Right when the Desians passed us, Genis and I started to sneak out. Right before we were going to get away, Genis tripped and fell.

"Owww…" He moaned.

"What was that?"

'Crap!" I thought.

I quickly took out my weapon and unsheathed it. I ran out while motioning Genis to run. The Desians looked surprised when I came out. I took the chance to slice one of the Desians from the base of the neck to the waist at the other side.

Lloyd came up and took out the other Desian. Then we both took out the last one. We took this chance to get the hell out of there.

Lloyd jumped off the cliff and I had no other option other than to jump as well. I made sure to land on different ledges on my way down so I wouldn't hurt myself. We finally got to the bottom and landed.

As soon as I landed, I collapsed to my knees. I sat there to try and catch my breath.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Lloyd asked.

"Remind me to never jump off a cliff again," I said, still trying to catch my breath.

"Sorry about that," He said.

"Don't worry, it was the only way out of there anyways," I replied and got up.

Genis then caught up to us.

"Lloyd, Sarah! I'm sorry! Because of me they saw your faces!" Genis said.

"Don't worry about it," Lloyd said.

"But…" Genis trailed.

"We took out the ones that saw our faces and the rest of them are still up on the cliff. As long as we hurry up and get out of here, they'll never know," Lloyd said.

"…O…Okay," Genis said, uncertainly.

"Just do my homework for me, okay?" Lloyd asked, trying to cheer him up.

"…Okay"

"All right then, I'm gonna take Sarah to see Dad about fixing her sword. You should head back to the village," Lloyd said.

"Lloyd, Sarah, thanks for helping Marble," Genis said.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Lloyd said.

"You don't have to thank me Genis, I barely did anything," I replied.

"Yes you did, you distracted the Desians from me," Genis said.

"I guess, but we really shouldn't be discussing this right now. We've gotta leave before the Desians come after us," I reminded.

"Right," Genis said then left towards the village.

"C'mon, let's go," Lloyd said.

"Right."

We continued on to Lloyd's house and got there soon. It looked really nice. The plants were very well kept. And the little steam just made the house look better. I noticed that Noishe and Sammy were here already. I looked over to my left and saw Anna's grave.

"I'm home, Mom," I heard Lloyd say to himself.

"Lloyd, last time I checked, Noishe went in the opposite direction of your house," I said.

"Yeah I know, its weird how he does that," Lloyd replied.

"Maybe he has this secret short cut he goes through," I said, randomly.

Lloyd laughed slightly at that. "Are you always able to make a joke out of something?"

"No…maybe…I don't know," I said, thinking it over.

"C'mon, let's go see if Dad can fix your sword," Lloyd said.

"Okay," I replied.

Lloyd led me inside and I looked around curiously from my spot.

"Welcome back. And who is this?" Dirk asked.

"Hi Dad, this is my friend," Lloyd said.

"My name's Sarah. It's nice to meet you," I said.

"I'm Dirk, Lloyd's Dad," He said.

"I heard that you were a good craftsman, so I was wondering if you could fix my sword," I said and took my sword off my belt.

"Well, let's see the damage," Dirk replied.

I handed him my sword and he took it over to the table and unwrapped it. He examined it for a while before turning to me.

"This should be an easy fix, but the metal the blade is made out of can be broken easily. It shouldn't be used for fightin'," He said.

"I know, it's mostly just a good luck charm. My dad bought it for me when I was twelve, but he's not really one to take notice in different metals," I said.

"I see. I fix it as soon as I can," Dirk replied.

"Thank you. Excuse me, I have to check on Sammy, my dog," I said.

He nodded and I exited outside to check on Sammy.

Sammy was laying down in the grass sleeping.

"Sammy, wake up you lazy dog," I said.

As soon as I said that, I was pounced on again by Sammy. Again, She was sitting on my stomach looking very triumphant.

"You think this is a game, don't you?" I asked from my position on the ground.

Sammy started wagging her tail faster like she was saying "yes."

"What the… stop wagging your tail if you understand me," I said, experimenting on whether or not she understands me.

Sammy stopped wagging her tail.

"Wait, since when can you understand what I'm saying?" I asked.

Sammy started whining like she was explaining. When she stopped I was able to understand her.

"So, your saying when we woke up in the forest is when this all started?" I asked.

Sammy started wagging her tail.

"Okay, before we continue this, would you mind getting off?" I asked.

Sammy got off my stomach and sat down on the grass. I stood up and dusted myself off.

"So, why did you run off back in the forest?" I asked.

Again, Sammy whined and I could understand.

"Because you didn't want to run into any monsters? Alright, I can live with that. Hey, are you really a dog?" I asked.

Sammy whined again.

"Okay, just making sure," I replied.

* * *

**Me: I was remembering all my past stories and noticed something.**

**Genis: What is it?**

**Me: My fourth chapter is always the longest.**

**Genis: Really?**

**Me: Yeah I know it's weird. **

**Genis: Why is it always longest?**

**Me: I don't know.**

**Genis: Review, this took her few days because she kept getting distracted.**

**Me: Oh yeah, something that I've been meaning to ask. Has anyone who's played Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of The New World ever noticed that somewhere near the end they say something like "Thank God" instead of something like "Thank Goddess"? If you have and know what mean then let me know because I want to see how many people caught that.**


	5. Seems Like A Filler

**Me: Hello people! This is a short chapter. **

**Genis: It really is, why is it short?**

**Me: Because whenever I'm writing a chapter, I always decide where I'm going to stop before I start writing.**

**Genis: This seems like a filler chapter.**

**Me: Yeah I know. Oh, for all the readers, I want to ask if you think Sarah should have wings or not, and if so, should they be blue, red, purple or silver?**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

* * *

I had started going back to Iselia with Sammy when I ran into the Colette, Genis, Kratos, and Raine.

"Hi Sarah!" Colette chirped.

"Were you guys on your way to Lloyd's house?" I asked.

"Yep! What were you doing out here?" Colette asked.

"I was just at Lloyd's house asking Dirk to fix my sword," I replied.

"Oh, okay. Is that your dog?" Colette asked.

"Yeah, this is Sammy. At least someone is able to tell Sammy's a dog," I said.

Colette walked up to Sammy and started petting her. She then started to act like she does with the dogs that you see in the game.

"My name is Raine Sage, I'll also be going on the Regeneration Journey," Raine said, walking up to me.

"I'm Sarah, it's nice to meet you," I replied.

"So you're the traveler. I must agree, you are a bit young to travel on your own," Raine commented.

"How old do you think I am?" I asked.

"At the least 15," Raine said.

"I'm 17," I corrected.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Raine said.

"No need to apologize, it's all right," I replied.

"Shouldn't we keep going? It's dangerous here at night," Genis reminded.

"Yeah, that would probably be best. I'll go with you guys," I said.

So we started walking again.

"So how long has Sammy been with you?" Colette asked.

"Since I was 13. My aunt gave her to me when she heard I was leaving to travel. Sammy was just a puppy then," I replied.

"I bet Sammy was a cute when she was a puppy," Colette said.

"She was a fat puppy."

Colette giggled and asked, "How old is Sammy?"

"She 4 years old," I replied.

"Only 4 and that big?!" Genis asked surprised.

"Yep. I think that's the reason my aunt gave me Sammy, because she'll be able to protect me," I responded.

"How many pets did you have?" Colette asked.

"Let's see… before I left I had three dogs, including Sammy, and two cats," I replied.

"Wow, you had a lot," Genis commented.

"Not really, it was easy taking care of all of them. The max that I've had to take care of is, I think, seven," I replied.

"Wow…" Genis said.

"It's easy when you don't live in town," I replied.

"I thought you lived in Luin?" Colette said, confused.

"Well, I lived close to Luin and I had to walk there everyday. So, you know what I mean, right?" I explained.

"Yeah, your like Lloyd," Colette said.

"What's the school in Luin like?" Genis asked.

"They needed to teach harder stuff. Most of what they taught I already knew," I answered.

The conversation continued on until we got to Lloyd's house. There everything happened and Lloyd was going around, talking to everyone.

I was by Noishe's pen with Sammy next to me. I was petting Noishe, waiting to go back to the village.

"So you like animals, huh?" Lloyd asked, coming up to me.

"Yeah. Some times it's hard to know who you can trust and who you can't. But I know I'll always be able to trust Sammy," I replied.

"Don't worry, you can always trust me too," Lloyd said smiling.

"Thanks, I've had enough people betray my trust. It's good to know there's someone I can count on," I said, smiling.

"You've had a really hard time with trust, huh?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. Just when I thought that my closest friends were always going to be there, they betrayed my trust and abandoned me," I explained.

"Wow, that… must have been really hard."

"I'm pretty sure I'm over it. I'm just more careful with who I trust now. Why don't you go talk to Colette, she's been waiting."

"Yeah, I was just about to go talk to her after I talked to you. See ya."

I nodded and he walked over to Colette.

After they went inside, I waited there with Sammy and Noishe.

"So, Sammy, are you up for this Journey? It'll be long," I said, just loud enough for Sammy to hear.

Sammy whine, then licked my face.

"Heh, thanks. I knew I could count on you to be there for me."

After a bit Raine and Genis went up to get Colette. When they came back down, I went over to our group and we waved "bye" to Lloyd who was still on the terrace.

When we got back to the village Sammy went over to the fence and went to sleep.

"Sarah, do you wanna stay at my house?" Colette asked.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Alright then. Thanks Colette," I replied.

"No problem, c'mon! I already told my dad and grandmother," Colette chirped and led me to her house.

When we got there Frank and Phaidra greeted us. Then Colette led me up to her room.

Colette went of to her closet and pulled out some sheets and a pillow.

"So when are we leaving?" I asked.

"We'll be leaving around dawn," Colette answered and started setting up the sheets.

I went over and started helping.

"I've never had another girl for a friend before. It's always been Lloyd, Genis, and I," Colette said.

"Really? Well now I feel special," I joked.

Colette giggled, "But everyone's special in their own way."

"I know. Everyone is born different, but so many die copies," I quoted.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Colette asked.

"It means that even though everyone is born different, there are many people who become like others just to fit in, then they die copies," I explained.

"Oh, I see what you mean," Colette replied.

"Heh, that's the reason I didn't have many friends. It's because I liked being different and people called me weird, and other things like that. I did what I wanted to do, not what others did," I said.

"Well, I think you're a good person and not weird at all! It's just who you are," Colette smiled.

We finished setting up the sheets.

"Thanks Colette. More people should just be who they want to be, then they'd actually find true friends," I said.

"I think your right!" Colette said.

"You know, your one of the first people to agree with me," I said.

Colette smiled and said, "We should probably get to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be the first day of our journey."

"Yeah, you're right, tomorrow is going to be tiresome," I agreed.

"You take the bed, okay?"

"No, it's okay. I'm use to sleeping on the ground, you take the bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep," I answered.

"Okay then, you can borrow one of my night shirts," Colette said and went over to her dresser to pull out two night shirts, one white, one black.

"I'll go to the bathroom to change," Colette said, handing me the black night shirt. She then rushed out before I could say anything.

I just shrugged and started to change. After I changed, I noticed my pendant and exsphere. I usually fell asleep with my pendant still on, but I wasn't sure about my exsphere. That's when Colette came back in.

"Give me your clothes so that they'll be washed for tomorrow, okay?" Colette said.

"Alright," I replied and picked up my clothes, handing them to her.

She walked off and came back after a short time.

"Okay, now we can go to sleep," Colette chirped.

"Thanks Colette, your being really polite," I said.

"It's no problem," Colette chirped.

"Huh? What's that?" she asked, looking at my exsphere.

"Oh, I forgot about that. This is my exsphere."

"It's really pretty!" She chirped.

"Thanks," I replied and took it off, handing it to her to look at. "Here, you can look at it."

Colette picked it up carefully and examined it.

"Where did you get your exsphere?"

I paused and thought about quickly.

"Um, my brother gave it to me. Right before he disappeared," I answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. Don't worry about it. Let's just get some rest."

"Okay," Colette nodded and handed back my exsphere.

We walked over to our beds and laid down.

"Good night, Sarah!"

"Good night, Colette."

* * *

**Me: Maybe I should have made this chapter longer?**

**Genis: You just finished making a long chapter yesterday. **

**Me: Okay you have a point.**

**Genis: Please review.**

**Me: Yes, please review and please vote on whether she should have wings or not and if so, should they be blue, red, purple, or silver. Because I have a plot line in my head for if she should have wings.**


	6. Triet, Renegades, and my Exsphere

**Me: I finally finished this chapter!**

**Genis: How did you make it this long when you had writter's block?**

**Me: I used a secret method.**

**Genis: And that would be?**

**Me: Sleeping! You can get awsome ideas when you waked up!**

**Genis: Okay...**

**Me: I have decided to go with wings, but I still need votes on the color. I've put up a poll on my profile, please vote!**

**Genis: She owns nothing, except for Sarah.**

**Me: 'Cause she is me!**

* * *

The next morning I woke up right before the sun started to rise. So, I sat in front of the window and watched the sun rise. It was really beautiful, like nothing I had ever seen. The sun rises on Earth were nice and all, but on Sylverant, they were amazing.

"Day two of my new life here and so far, I'm not regretting it," I whispered.

I then heard Colette start to get up. I turned around and leaned against the wall.

"Morning Colette, have a good night's sleep?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh! Good morning, Sarah! I slept well, what about you?" She asked.

"I slept fine. Should we start getting ready?"

"Right!" She nodded.

I went over to my makeshift bed and started folding and picking up the sheets and pillow. Colette walked out of the room and came back a couple minutes later with our clothes. I finished folding the sheets and Colette led me to the bathroom.

I took a short bath and got changed. I only put on my black pants, shirt, pendant, and exsphere. I went back to Colette's room and saw that she was packing her stuff but otherwise ready.

"I almost ready," Colette said.

"Okay, don't worry about being late. It's still really early," I replied.

"Um, Sarah?"

"What is it?" I asked, while setting down my vest and gloves.

"After I'm done packing, can I brush your hair? It's really long and pretty."

"Sure," I replied. At that moment, my hair wasn't parted. It was just slicked back from the water.

After Colette finished packing she started brushing my hair.

"Sarah, doesn't your hair get in the way when you fight?" Colette asked.

"Not really, but even if it did, I'm not cutting it. I'd probably just pull it back," I replied.

"Why won't you cut it?"

"One, because I like my hair long and two, because I like to think it shows my faith in my friends."

"Wow, then you must have really good friends!"

"Not really, I cut my hair back when I was 12, because I lost my faith in my friends after they betrayed my trust."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay. I have new friends that I can rely on now."

"Who?"

"You, Lloyd, and Genis! Who else could they be?"

"Oh, right, sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"Hehe, right. I finished brushing your hair!"

"Thanks Colette!"

Colette picked up her bag and went over to the door. I grabbed my vest, gloves, and belts and put on my boots. I walked over to Colette and we went down stairs.

Colette and I greeted Frank and Phaidra. We then sat down and Phaidra served breakfast. We ate and I thanked Frank and Phaidra. We then said goodbye to them and grabbed our stuff.

I picked up my vest and gloves and slipped them on. I zipped up my vest halfway, put on my belts, and followed Colette out of the house. We walked over to the gate and met with Raine, and Kratos.

After saying goodbye to all the villagers we left Iselia. Sammy was walking next to me.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"We're heading for Triet! Didn't you say you were born there?" Colette asked.

"Yeah, but I don't have many memories of Triet," I replied.

"Why not?"

"I'm not really sure, but I think it might have something to do with my scar."

"Your scar?"

"Yeah, the one on my forehead. I got when I was around three," I explained, moving my bangs from my face to show the scar.

"How did you get it?"

"I was playing with my brother when I hit my head. At least, that's what my parents said. I can't remember anything from when I got this scar or before that."

"Oh, what do you remember?"

"Hmm… all the memories that I have from Triet are always with my mom, except for one that's with my brother."

"What's the one with your brother about?"

"The time when we were playing and he hit his head. He also has a scar but his is hidden in his hair."

"Oh…"

"Yeah, my brother and I were always reckless."

We continued to talk about random topics and ran into a few fights along the way. It wasn't very interesting.

"Sarah," Raine said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Do you have any knowledge of anything that might be the seal in Triet?"

"Umm, well, let's see… The Triet Ruins are probably the most likely place for the seal of fire."

"Really? Interesting… Do you know where it is?"

"Not really. The last time I was there it was a couple years ago. Sorry."

"It's alright, we'll be stopping in Triet so we'll ask about directions when we get there."

"Okay."

We continued on and decided to take a break for lunch. Colette and Raine were discussing who should cook.

"Why don't I cook?" I volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Raine asked.

"Yeah, I'm use to cooking. And I'm not bad."

"Alright then."

So after we got the fire started, I looked at what foods we had. I decided to make noodles and rice with cut up pieces of meat. It didn't take long for me to make because I had watched my mom make it a lot. I served it and found out I made just the right amount.

"This is really good!" Colette chirped after the first bite.

"Really? Thanks," I replied.

"I must agree with Colette. Where did you learn to cook?" Raine asked.

"My mom taught me. I started learning how to cook when I was little."

"What was your first dish?" Colette asked

"I can't really remember, but I do remember I was cooking with my brother at that time," I answered.

We soon continued on our way after eating and cleaning up. It was boring to say the least. Not much but a few battles with some monsters.

Soon it was night and we had reached the House of Salvation. We had dinner, planned the next day's schedule and went to bed.

The next day was pretty much the same, except trekking through the desert wasn't very easy. I knew sand was hard to walk through, but an entire day of it. I think I had developed a new hatred for it. Oh well, being in the Triet desert would defiantly help my science project for when I get back to Earth.

"Do you think it's hot out here, Sarah?" Colette asked.

"Actually, I'm quite fine," I replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I've always been one to like the heat."

"Maybe it's because you were born in Triet."

"Maybe," I replied.

We had just gotten to the top of one of the sand dunes when the sand under my feet slid down. That caused me to slide down the sand dune as well. When I finally got to the bottom and stopped, I sat up slowly.

"Sarah! Are you okay?!" Colette asked, as she ran over to me with Sammy.

"I _hate_ sand…" I groaned, while standing up with Colette's help.

'Gnome must really hate me,' I thought. Usually, I would have just thought gravity hated me, but since Gnome controls gravity and I'm not on Earth, he must be the one that hates me.

"Are you hurt?" Colette asked, worried.

Raine and Kratos came over to us.

"I'm fine. I've fallen from higher," I replied, remembering the Desian base.

"Higher?" Colette said curiously.

"Long story," I answered.

"Seeing that you are not hurt, we should get moving," Raine suggested.

"Good idea," I responded.

So we continued on our way to Triet. I was more careful about the sand dunes after that.

We finally got to Triet and decided to spilt up to take care of different things. I would buy supplies, Raine and Colette went to ask about the Triet Ruins and Kratos went to get rooms at the Inn.

While I was buying the supplies, I saw some Renegades.

'What are they doing here?' I thought.

I fingered my pendant and felt my exsphere as well. I had forgotten it was there.

I decided to eavesdrop on the Renegades conversation.

'This could be helpful later,' I thought.

I walked over to the stand they were near, which was luckily the armor shop. I wouldn't seem suspicious while I was there.

"-this exsphere look like?"

'Exsphere?'

"That's the hard part about finding it. They said it looked like any other exsphere. But, it's Keycrest has a vine-like pattern," answered a different Renegade.

"It'll still be a hard job to find."

"We have the description of the last person seen to have it. We're looking for a girl that looks around 16, long brown hair, the eyes could be brown or black, wearing blue and fights with a duel weapon," described a Renegade.

'There's no way that can be me. I shouldn't even have a record here. And, I'm pretty sure this exsphere turned into one when I came here,' I thought.

"We didn't find any records on this girl either. That's another reason why we need to bring her back alive."

'You have got to be kidding me! I've only been here a few days and I've already got people suspicious of me?! Besides how did they even-… Oh crap… Back at the ranch I forgot to zip my vest back up to hide the exsphere,' I thought.

I started to walk away. There was no way I wanted to be caught by the Renegades. What was so special about my exsphere anyways? Okay, there is the part were it's from another world. But how could they tell something like that when they say it looks like any other exsphere?

"Hey kid!" I heard one of the Renegades shout.

'I'm dead,' was my first thought.

I took a deep breath and asked, not facing them, "What?"

"Hey! Face us when we're talking to you!"

"I don't see a reason why I should," I replied.

"You little-" I heard the Renegade say. I then heard the unsheathing of a sword.

"Wait… long brown hair, wearing blue, around 16... So far everything matches…" another Renegade said.

'Do _not_ turn around,' I told myself.

I heard the shuffling of feet come towards me.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked.

"We're looking for a wanted person, and so far… you match the description. Do you have an exsphere that has a keycrest with a vine-like pattern?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Now please leave me alone," I stated.

That's the way I speak when I'm nervous. It takes a polite set of words but they're said in a venomous, hating kind of way.

"Really now?" I heard right before I heard the Renegade raise his previously unsheathed sword.

I turned around and jumped back quickly, right before the sword hit me.

'My hearing and reflexes have gotten a lot better since I got here,' I thought.

"You're pretty quick, girly," The Renegade with the sword said.

"What the hell did you call me just now?!" I shouted.

"Let's fight," the renegade said and charged at me with his sword.

I jumped out of the way again.

'Looks like I'm gonna have to fight. Oh well,' I thought and quickly pulled out my weapon.

The Renegade came after me again. This time, I dodged and unsheathed my weapon, cutting the Renegade in the process.

"Duel weapons… and the key crest… you're defiantly the one we're looking for."

"Well too bad, 'cause I'm not going without a fight," I replied.

The Renegade swung his sword again but I jumped back and dodged. The other two Renegades ran into the battle, hoping to help their comrade.

I looked around quickly and noticed that all the people had gone to hide. I sighed in relief and turned my attention back to the Renegades. They surrounded me and they all had the swords ready to fight.

"Remember, we've got to bring her back alive," reminded one renegade.

"But that doesn't mean we can't seriously injure her," the one that I slashed said.

"Ganging up on a girl… wow you guys are really low. You should be ashamed of yourselves, but I get the feeling you aren't," I said.

"We're just following orders, girl. We won't have to hurt you if you come quietly," the Renegade that hadn't spoken said.

"Yeah, I don't think so! I'm never going down without a fight!" I replied, over-confident about this.

"Alright then, kid. But we gave you a way out of pain."

The Renegade that I slashed came at me. Best thing to do when surrounded and out numbered is to dodge instead of block. That's something I learned from that battle.

I blocked the attack but another Renegade came and swung his sword at me. I tried to dodge but the attack created a gash on my right forearm. I jumped back so I wasn't surrounded and stood ready.

All three Renegades charged at me. I blocked the attacks of the Renegades on my right and in the center. I tried to kick the one on my left in the head but he ducked and swung at me. I didn't have the room to dodge and I didn't have enough time to block with my weapon. The Renegades sword dug into my arm, creating another gash on my left forearm.

I winced in pain and moved away. All three Renegades started attacking me again. I was slow at that point. I had two gashes, one on each arm. That doesn't help when you use dual weapons.

I just slashed another Renegade, but I had let one of the renegades out of my sight. The Renegade had come behind me and hit me in the back of the head. I blacked out after feeling the hit.

When I woke up, I felt the cold metal against my skin. I opened my eyes slowly and pushed myself up into a sitting position. I looked around, and saw that I was in a cell. Everything that happened came back to me, along with a giant headache.

'You have got to be kidding me…' I thought.

I looked down at my arms and saw that my gloves were missing but the gashes were wrapped up in bandages. I moved my hand to my head and felt that it was also bandaged. I moved my hand to just below my neck and felt my pendant, and strangely my exsphere was still there too.

'The hell? Weren't they after my exsphere?' I questioned myself.

I then heard footsteps in the hall. I looked at the Renegade and saw him stiffen.

"Lord Yuan!" The Renegade said.

"Is the girl awake yet?" I heard Yuan ask.

"Yes sir," The Renegade replied.

"Leave, I'd like to talk to her," Yuan said.

"Sir!" The Renegade responded and left.

Yuan walked in front of the cell and stood there. There was a silence before I decided to ask the question that had been bothering me.

"I thought you were after my exsphere, why didn't you take?" I asked.

"So you _can _talk," He remarked.

"I get that a lot. Now, I'd like my question answered," I inquired.

"I left it there purposely, to see if you would ask," He answered.

"I don't see how that would help you," I replied.

"It tells me if you know what's going on."

"I only heard about my exsphere being wanted. I don't know anything other than that," I commented.

"We don't have any records on you. Why is that?" He asked.

"No records? Maybe you lost them," I lied.

"Where did you get your exsphere?" He questioned.

"My brother gave it to me when I was 13," I answered.

"Why are you so calm?" He wondered.

" 'Cause there's not really any reason to be nervous, plus the best thing to do in difficult situations is to stay calm," I remarked.

There was a pause before Yuan asked, "Would you mind moving your bangs out of your face?"

I gave him a questioning look but just shrugged, replaced it for a bored look and moved my bangs behind my ear.

"Where did you get that scar?" Yuan asked.

"Not really sure, but my parents told me that I got it when I was around 3 while playing with my brother. They said I hit my head against the corner of the wall. I don't remember anything about it or before it happened," I shrugged.

"Were you adopted?" He questioned.

"Of course not! My parents would have told me if I was," I retorted, glaring at him.

"Did you ever see any resemblance between you and your family?" He asked.

"A lot of other people said they did, but I never really saw any except my dad, my brother, and myself all have brown eyes," I replied.

There was another pause before Yuan said, "I'll leave it at that."

He then walked away. A few minutes later a Renegade came and guarded the door.

'That was strange, especially with that adopted stuff and my scar,' I thought as I moved my bangs from behind my ear.

'How am I gonna get out of here?' I questioned myself.

* * *

**Me: Please vote for the color of the wings, 'cause I can't decide on the color. **

**Genis: Why don't you flip a coin?**

**Me: I would, but I think the readers should have a say in something I can't decide. Please review everyone!**


	7. Escaping From The Sylverant Base

**Me: Sorry this chapter is late. I took a day off from writing after I stayed up and entire night writing. **

**Genis: This is late? It's only been four days.**

**Me: Exactly, it's been more than half a week. I've gotten slow. I use to be able to update at least once a day.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except Sarah. Also, I still need votes on what color the wings should be. I've got one vote for purple, blue, silver and white with dark blue streaks (which wasn't listed but I'll go with it 'cause it sounds cool.)**

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As I sat in my cell I thought about how to escape. I was thinking about playing a sob story, but then I would be wondering around the base having no idea how to get out. I also thought about waiting for Lloyd, but there was the chance that this place had two cell areas. That wouldn't work out too well.

'Maybe I'm just over thinking this,' I thought. I tend to over analyze things a lot.

I heard foot steps down the hall.

"Open another cell, we caught the other kid," I heard a Renegade order.

The Renegade that was guarding my cell door stepped away and opened the one across from me. Two Renegades came into view, along with Lloyd.

'Well, at least escaping will be much easier… I think.'

The Renegades left Lloyd in the cell and started talking.

'Come on, wake up Lloyd,' I thought.

At that point, I was getting really, really fidgety. I'm not the kind of person to stay in one place for long. If I stay in one place for too long I start to pace back and forth.

I was trying to control myself into staying still. It didn't work out well because I started playing with the zipper on my vest.

"…If so, I feel sorry for those kids," Said a Renegade.

'Wait… Lloyd should be waking up now,' I thought.

"Yeah. They can't possibly escape execution," The other Renegade responded.

'Execution!? Okay, I might not have any records, but is that really a reason to execute me?!' I shouted in my head.

I heard another set of foot steps come down the hall.

"Hey, Lord Botta is calling you three," The Renegade said, addressing the two that brought Lloyd and the one that was guarding my cell.

The three Renegades left and the one that informed them took there place in guarding the cells. He paced back and forth in front of our cells.

"Sarah?" I heard.

I looked across to Lloyd's cell and smiled pathetically.

"Hey Lloyd," I waved.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Be quiet you two!" Ordered the Renegade.

When he had his back turned I stuck my tongue out at him. I then acted like I didn't do anything. I saw Lloyd holding back his laughter.

'I guess since we can't talk, Lloyd will have to figure it out on his own,' I mentally sighed, 'If only I could use magic, things would be a lot easier.'

I then looked over at Lloyd to see that he was aiming with the Sorcerer's Ring. He got the right timing and hit the guard with a fireball from the Sorcerer's Ring. The Renegade ran off and left us in our cells.

"Nice aim Lloyd," I complimented.

"Thanks, but how are we going to get out of our cells?" He questioned.

"Easy," I replied, and slipped my arm through the bars and pushed the button next to it.

I quickly slipped my arm out and the cell door opened.

"I've been here a while, so I was able to examine the room," I answered before he got the chance to ask.

I walked over to his cell and pushed the button next to it.

"They should really keep the buttons away from the door," I commented.

"No kidding…C'mon, let's get out of here," Lloyd said and led the way.

I looked over to a control area and stopped.

"I think our equipment is over here," I said and walked over.

I looked around and found our equipment. I handed Lloyd his after grabbing the equipment. I strapped on my belts, which luckily hadn't had anything taken off.

After that, Lloyd led the way in trying to escape.

"Have any idea where to go?" He asked.

"Not in the least. I was knocked out like you," I replied.

"Who the hell are you?" We heard.

We looked a head and saw two Renegades.

"Uh-oh," Was Lloyd's response.

"Oh crap," I said, right after he said that.

"P…Prison break!" The second Renegade call.

I pulled out my weapon and unsheathed it. Lloyd pulled out his twin swords after seeing me get ready for a fight. The two renegade charged at us. Lloyd and I split up and took on one Renegade each.

The Renegade tried to strike at my shoulder. I blocked with my left and slashed the Renegade across the chest with my right. I back stepped, then blocked the second strike with both daggers. I'm just gonna call them that since I don't know what they're really called. Anyways, the Renegade tried to over power me and I don't have much upper body strength, I usually just rely on speed. I held out for a little while then I kicked the back of the Renegade's knees. He fell and I moved to the right and hit him in the back of the neck with the butt of my weapon.

I looked over and Lloyd had just finished his fight.

"Let's get out of here be-" I was cut off by the alarm, "..fore more come…crap."

I heard foot steps running down the hall, towards us. Lloyd grabbed my wrist and pulled me through a door. It was the room with the raybits.

"I wonder what that is…" Lloyd wondered over to the device that changes the Sorcerer's Ring's function.

I heard the Renegades coming and ran over to Lloyd.

"No time, they're coming," I said.

I grabbed his sleeve, pulling him into that indention in the floor. I sat down after pulling Lloyd down there. I kept my back straight against the wall.

Then the Renegades charged in.

"Where are they?! The kid in red and the girl in blue disappeared!"

The Renegades searched around, but didn't find us. They finished their conversation and were about to leave but the door didn't open. Then they talked about the door mechanism and electrified the raybits. After they left, we stood up.

"Red, red, red. Does my outfit stand out that much? Sheesh," Lloyd complained.

"Apparently both our outfits stand out. That doesn't bother me though, I like being different," I smiled.

"You really are different," Lloyd responded and offered a helping hand out of the hole.

I accepted it and climbed out. I dusted myself off out of habit.

"And I like it that way… Thanks," I said, after dusting myself off.

"No problem… Hey, why are you here anyways?" He questioned.

"Apparently I don't have any records. I think they lost them, but they think it's something more. Who knows… Also, for some reason they're after my exsphere," I answered.

"No records?" He asked, confused.

"Desians are suppose to have records on everyone apparently," I shrugged.

"Anyways, let's get out of here," Lloyd said.

"Good idea," I nodded.

Lloyd went back to the device and changed the Sorcerer's Ring's function.

"It feels different," He said.

"Try it out," I told him.

He tried it and it came out as electricity.

"That helps, especially since neither of us know magic," I joked.

"Yeah… I'll distract the raybits, you use the Sorcerer's Ring," Lloyd instructed.

"Are you sure? I'm not sure how good my aim will be with it," I replied.

"Don't worry, I'm sure. I don't want you getting hurt," Lloyd said, handing me the Sorcerer's Ring.

"Okay, just be careful," I replied and put the ring on.

I walked over to the side of the panel on the ground and waited. Lloyd got the raybits attention and right when it was on the panel, I shot it with the ring. I smiled at my accomplishment with aim.

"Nice shot," Lloyd said.

"Thanks, let's hurry and get the other one," I replied.

He nodded and we did the same with the other. The door opened a few seconds after electrocuting the second raybit.

"Alright! It opened!" Lloyd cheered.

"Let's go before they come back to check this room again," I responded.

"Right," He nodded.

We left and entered the next room. It was the room with the GameCube.

"This room looks weird," Lloyd said.

"Looks like another puzzle to solve," I sighed, "Can't they be normal and just use locks?"

"That would be easier, I could just pick the lock," Lloyd sighed.

'I've always guessed on how to get out… This'll take a while. I should've paid more attention,' I thought.

It took a really long time. We kept guessing on what to do. Yeah, who ever sent me there did a really good job at choosing who to get. Anyways, after much trial and error, we finally managed to find the right combination.

"That… took forever…" I said, irritated by it.

Lloyd didn't say anything as we walked down the hall.

'Waaait, aren't we suppose to run into some Renegades soon?' I thought.

Just then Renegades came into the hall we were in.

"Whoa?!" Lloyd said surprised.

"Hey, you two! What are you doing here?!" A Renegade shouted.

"Uh-oh!" Lloyd and I said.

The Renegades charged at us. Lloyd grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a split hall, then into one of the rooms.

"Phew. That was close," Lloyd breathed.

"And just who the hell are you?"

"Damn…" I muttered.

Lloyd and I turned around and faced Yuan. He had his right had ready to release an electrical ball of mana at us. Lloyd stepped in front of me.

"Give me your name and I shall give you mine!" Lloyd replied, acting tough.

"Hahaha! You certainly have guts. But I'm afraid I don't see a need to introduce myself to miserable little creatures like you," Yuan said.

"What a coincidence, 'cause I don't see a need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is," Lloyd insulted.

"You know, he's right. What kind of pathetic person captures two kids, especially if one's a girl," I backed Lloyd up.

"Why you little!…" He gritted, getting ready to release the electrical ball of mana at us.

Lloyd put up his defensive stance and I pulled out my weapon, ready to attack or block. Yuan noticed Lloyd's exsphere on his left hand. He let the spell fade as he looked on surprised.

"An exsphere! You're… Lloyd?!" Yuan asked, surprised.

Lloyd lowered his stance and said, "And if I am?"

Yuan approached Lloyd and looked him over.

"Hmm, I see the resemblance," He wondered.

Lloyd and I drew our blades. Just as Lloyd was about to attack Yuan, the alarm went off again. Then, Botta and two Renegade soldiers came in. They completely ignored us.

"Sir! We've received reports that the Chosen's group had infiltrated the facility!" Botta reported.

"You…you're the Desian that attacked Iselia!" Lloyd recalled, looking over at Botta.

Botta turned to Lloyd, "So you're Lloyd! Now this is amusing!"

"Botta! I'm leaving for now. Our plans will be ruined if he sees me," Yuan said.

"What of the chosen?" Botta asked.

"I'll leave that to you," Yuan answered.

"Understood," Botta replied.

Yuan walked over to the door and turned around to face Lloyd.

"Lloyd. Next time we meet, you're mine. Just you wait," was Yuan's last words before he left.

The Renegades and Botta surrounded us. Then, Colette and the others arrived from behind Botta.

"Lloyd! Sarah! Are you okay?" Genis asked as he and the others rushed in.

"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Colette asked, worriedly.

"Lloyd looks fine, but Sarah…" Kratos said.

"Huh?" I was confused before I remembered about the bandages on my arms and head. "Oh! Don't worry I'm fine," I reassured.

"You guys all came for us?" Lloyd asked surprised.

"Perfect timing. I'll take care of everyone at once," Botta commented.

"Get ready," Kratos said.

Then, our battle began. Lloyd rushed in first with Kratos right behind. They took on Botta. Genis stayed in the back to cast and Colette was covering him. They worked on one of the Renegade soldiers. I took on the last Renegade by myself.

'At least I have a better chance now,' I thought as I charged at the Renegade.

When I reached the Renegade I slashed down. The Renegade blocked and then knocked my attack away. I quickly used my other dagger to cut the Renegade across the chest. It was a shallow cut because the Renegade tried to dodge.

The Renegade swung his sword at me but I back-stepped and dodged. I then preformed a spin kick and hit the Renegade directly in the chest where I had created the cut. The Renegade stumbled back. I then swung diagonally at the Renegade. The Renegade blocked when I was halfway to the other side. I pulled away and moved to my right.

The Renegade swung his sword at me. He tried to decapitate me but I ducked and plunged my dagger into his stomach. The entire blade had gone into the Renegade's body. When I pulled it out it had blood dripping off it. The Renegade dropped backwards.

I was too into the fight that it didn't even faze me.

After doing that, I looked over to see that Colette and Genis had already taken down their Renegade and were helping Kratos and Lloyd. I was just about to go over and help, but then Kratos broke Botta's weapon.

"Ugh… I underestimated your abilities," Botta grunted.

He then dropped his weapon and ran off.

Raine came into the room and examined the destroyed weapon.

"Isn't this a…" Raine trailed, picking up the exsphere from Botta's weapon.

"Professor!" Lloyd said surprised.

"Ah, Lloyd. Genis told me what happened," Raine said, then glanced at Genis. "I apologize for the trouble he's caused you."

"No, I'm the one that dragged Genis into it. I'm sorry," Lloyd said, with downcast eyes.

"Save the chitchat for later. We shouldn't stay here long," Kratos informed.

"Agreed, they might bring in reinforcements," I added.

"You're right. I opened the escape route just now. Let's go," Raine said.

We used the escape route and got out of the Sylverant Base without any trouble. When we were outside, we saw Noishe and Sammy waiting for us.

"Sammy!" I said, excited and happy as I rushed over to Sammy.

"Noishe! You came too?" Lloyd said, as he walked over to Noishe.

"I have a question. This crystalline object attached to this weapon… Is this one of the exspheres that Genis spoke of?" Rained asked, examining it.

"It would seem so," Kratos said, after glancing at the object.

"Oh yeah, you use an exsphere, too," Lloyd remembered.

"…So you noticed," Kratos said, sounding indifferent.

"Well, duh," Lloyd replied.

"What are they, exactly ?" Raine asked.

"It'll take a while to explain. We can talk about it when we get to Triet," Kratos said.

"Yeah. Okay, Noishe! Let's go back now!" Lloyd said, excitedly.

Noishe howled in agreement.

We then proceeded to Triet.

"Sarah," Raine addressed.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" Raine asked.

"What happened? You mean how I got there?" I asked.

"Yes," Raine replied.

"Well… while I was getting the supplies, three Desians came up to me, saying that I was a wanted person. They said it was because they didn't have any records on me. Apparently, they have records on everyone. Then they attacked me because I didn't believe them and ignored them. I didn't have a choice but to fight back. That's why I have bandages on my arms and head. When they hit me in the back of the head, it knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in one of the cells. I didn't have anything to help me get out. A while later they brought in Lloyd. There was only one guard, so it was easy to get out of those cells with Lloyd's help," I explained.

"No records?" Raine inquired..

"I just think they lost them or something," I answered, shrugging.

"Does you head hurt?" Raine asked.

"No, I'm fine," I answered.

I looked down at my arms to see that blood was starting to sink through the bandages. Raine looked at my arms and also noticed the blood.

"Must have reopened while I was fighting," I muttered.

"That doesn't look good," Raine commented.

"I'll be fine," I responded.

"Fine? It's bleeding enough to sink though the bandages," Raine replied sternly, " Let me heal it."

"Shouldn't we wait 'till we get to Triet?" I asked.

"It's best not to put aside an injury that bad," Raine replied, "Now stop and stay still so I can heal it."

'It's not that bad. But it's best to keep it to myself,' I thought and stopped.

Raine stopped as well and started to prepare for a healing spell.

"What are you guys stopping for?" Lloyd asked.

"Raine wants to heal the injuries on my arms," I replied and started to remove the bandages.

"That looks bad," Lloyd commented.

"It's not that bad," I replied.

"Are you going to be okay?" Colette asked, worried.

"I'll be fine, it's not that bad," I answered, after I finished removing the bandages.

Blood dripped off my arms at a slow pace.

'Okay, maybe it is bad…' I thought, looking at it.

"First aid!" Raine called.

The wounds started to slowly close up. After Raine healed them, they were only large scratches, not gashes.

Raine walked up to me with a roll of bandages in hand. She wrapped up my arms again. Then she put away the bandages.

"Now that it's not bleeding too much anymore, let's continue on," Raine said.

We then continued walking to Triet. As we walked our formation kept the same. Kratos was in front. Behind him was Lloyd on Colette's left and Genis on her right. Noishe was right beside Lloyd. Raine was behind them and I was in the very back with Sammy next to me.

'This is so weird… Shouldn't the desert feel hot? It doesn't feel hot at all to me, it feels like… nothing. I'm not even sweating… what the hell is going on?' I thought.

Then, one of my thoughts of what it could be popped into my head.

'Maybe it's because I'm from Earth. Earth doesn't have any mana so I wouldn't be able to feel mana, right? Which means, since Efreet's mana influences the climate around here, I wouldn't be able to feel it… Would that mean I wouldn't feel anything if I was hit by a spell?… Stop thinking, I'm giving myself a headache!' I thought.

I just left the thought at that. I was thinking off topic and giving myself a headache…again.

I didn't want to think about it any more and just blocked it out of my head. I decided that I would think more about at night.

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**Me: Please review, I like to hear from my readers, it helps motivate me into writing. Also, please vote on the color of the wings 'cause I can't mke up my mind.**

**Genis: Wasn't there somethng else you wanted to ask the readers?**

**Me: Oh yeah! I've been talking/ typing (you know what I mean) to one of my readers, Neko-Mage-Lycra, and she asked if there were going to be any pairings. Which brings me to the question of wat my other readers think about a pairing with Sarah. I would like to know what you think about a Sarah x ???. And if you think there should be a pairing with Sarah, who do you think it should be with. We've already ruled it down to Lloyd and Zelos. So, yeah, please vote for the wing color and this. Bye!**


	8. First Night in Triet and Home Sickness

**Me: I finally stopped being lazy. I would have finished this two days ago but I was being lazy. **

**Genis: Didn't you also have something to tell the readers.**

**Me: Ah, that's right! I've decided that Sarah's wings are going to be silver! I've also got two votes for a pairing. They are both for Lloyd.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except Sarah.**

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That night we gathered in Raine and Genis' room. Raine wanted to discuss the exsphere she found. While everyone was talking about the exsphere, I just blocked it out and fell into thought.

I can't feel the desert heat, but I can feel everything else. Now that it was night, I still couldn't feel anything. I was guessing that it was still hot in the desert because of Efreet's mana influence. I was going to have to try and figure this out sooner or later. Maybe experiment with my exsphere to make sure it's not really a cruxis crystal.

Then something else popped into my head, mana signatures. Don't you have to have a mana signature to live? I'm from Earth, and last time I checked, Earth didn't have mana. Maybe I was given a mana signature when I got here. I got other stuff when I got here. Or maybe I already had a mana signature, and that was one of the reasons I got to come here. But if I did have a mana signature, wouldn't that mean one of my family members came from Sylverant or Tethe'alla? Okay, that's ruled out. I guess I was given a mana signature when I came here. Besides, if I didn't have a mana signature, Raine or Genis probably would have brought it up by now.

Another thing is that I haven't learned any techniques so far. I'm the only one who doesn't know any techniques. I mean, shouldn't I at least know demon fang? Fights would have been a lot easier if I knew techniques. I wonder if anybody has noticed yet? I've seen everyone use techniques, even some monsters we've fought. I guess it's because I'm from Earth.

Anyways, after I finished my thoughts, I noticed that the discussion was coming to an end. Lloyd had just agreed to fixing Raine's keycrest. After Raine thanked Lloyd, everyone started to file out.

I was sharing a room with Colette. When I got into our room, I took off my vest, belts and boots. I sat down and sighed. It had been a long day for me.

"Sarah, how are you feeling?" Colette asked, from her bed.

"I'm fine, tired and a little sore, but fine," I replied.

"I hope you feel better tomorrow," Colette said.

"Thanks," I smiled and stretched.

There was a brief pause.

"Sarah, is something wrong?" Colette asked.

"Sorta," I replied.

"What's wrong? We're friends, so you can tell me," Colette smiled.

I paused before I answered, "… I guess… I'm kinda home sick…"

It was true, I was starting to get homesick. I didn't think it would start to affect me so soon. We hadn't even released the first seal. But then again, I did spend most of my time at home when I was on Earth.

"Oh, I see. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be going to Luin on our journey!" Colette chirped, trying to cheer me up.

"Thanks Colette," I replied, hoping my smile looked believable.

Then again, I've either always been good at hiding my emotions, or people have just never cared.

"Your welcome! We should probably go to sleep now, it's been a long day," Colette said.

"Right, good night, Colette," I said, with a yawn.

"Good night, Sarah!" Colette chirped happily.

I blew out the candle next on the night stand next to the bed. Colette blew out the one on her side too. I got under the blanket and tried to fall asleep. The key word there is "tried." I had too many thoughts going through my head to sleep. Finally, I just got fed up with it and got out of bed.

I slipped on my boots and made sure Colette was asleep before I left. I walked out of the inn and sighed. I walked over to Sammy's and Noishe's pen and smiled.

"Hey guys," I said and started to pet Sammy and Noishe.

Sammy licked my hand and whined.

"I'm just a little home sick Sammy. I'll be fine," I smiled.

Sammy whined again. Translation: "When ever you say your fine you're not."

"That's not true," I argued.

"*Whine*". Translation: "Yes it is."

"Okay fine, it is true. But I'll be okay, I just have to think things through a bit," I reassured.

This time the translation was: "You always keep things to yourself. You never go to anyone else for help with your problems."

"… I know your right, but there's nothing that can help my home sickness. The only way I can return home is if I finish this journey…That is, if I don't die first," I replied.

Translation: "Don't think that way! What happened to the over-confident, sure-of-herself, determined girl I knew?"

I sighed then smiled, "She's still here, she's just having a reality check. I'm sorry Sammy, I shouldn't doubt myself so much that I'd think something like that."

Translation: "Good, and don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Thanks, I'm gonna go for a walk now. I wanna clear my head of any unsolved, useless thought," I said, and scratched Sammy behind the ears before starting to leave.

Translation: "Be careful! I don't want you getting kidnapped again!"

"I'll be fine," I smiled.

Translation: "That line makes me worry."

I walked around that part of town for a bit, then I head over to the oasis. I wanted to see how it looked at night. When I walked past the inn, I heard the door open. I just ignored it so that I could enjoy the walk.

When I got to the oasis it was simply beautiful. I had never seen something like it. If only I had my camera or sketch pad at the time. Oh well, I just had to enjoy it while it lasted.

"Hey Sarah," someone said.

I slightly jumped in surprise and turned around quickly. I sighed in relief that it was Lloyd.

"Sorry about scaring you," Lloyd said nervously.

"It's okay, I have to pay more attention anyways. How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"I talked to Colette and we noticed you weren't in bed. When I came out here and talked to Kratos, he said he saw you go this way," Lloyd explained.

"Ah, I see. So why are you here?" I asked.

"Colette thinks there might some else wrong besides being home sick. I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Lloyd answered, with a smile.

"Don't worry I'm fine," I smiled, trying to make it look believable.

"…No you're not, I can tell that smile is fake," Lloyd responded, seriously.

I dropped the smile and my eyes widened slightly. I then frowned and lowered my eyes.

"You're the first person to ever see through my fake smile," I said.

"The first? Not even your family saw through it?" Lloyd asked surprised.

"I've never had to use it on them," I answered.

"Oh… So what's wrong? I've already seen through that fake smiled," Lloyd said, seriously.

"I'm just home sick… It's been a while since I've been home," I replied.

"Colette doesn't think that's it," Lloyd said.

I was just about to say that that was it, but Sammy's words rang in my head.

"You always keep things to yourself. You never go to anyone else for help with your problems."

I sighed, Sammy was right. If I always kept things to myself, I'd just hurt myself.

"Lloyd… is it hot or cold out here?" I asked.

"I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but it's pretty cold out here. I'm surprised you're not shivering," Lloyd replied, confused.

"… I can't feel the temperature…" I said.

"What?!" He asked.

"I can't feel the temperature… I don't know why but I can't feel it. I can feel texture and things like that, but I can't feel temperature," I repeated with some more explanation.

"You can't feel hot or cold? How long has it been like that?" Lloyd asked, slightly panicked.

"Ever since I got to Triet, the heat hasn't affected me. I have a theory that I can't feel mana at all, and since hot and cold are created by mana influence, I wouldn't be able to feel it," I explained, calmly.

"How can you be so calm?! There might be something seriously wrong with you! We should tell the Professor about this!" Lloyd said.

"Lloyd… Don't tell anyone about this, got it? I told you this because I trust you," I calmly said.

"But what if something's wrong? What if-"

"Focusing on the what if's will get you nowhere. Don't tell anyone," I cut him off, saying that sternly.

There was a pause before Lloyd sigh.

"…Alright, but if something happens, like you get burned by a fire and don't notice it but everyone else does, than I'm gonna have to tell them," Lloyd replied.

"Deal, but I don't intend on having something like that happen," I responded.

"We should probably get inside. You might not be able to feel it but you can still get sick from the cold," Lloyd said.

"True, let's go," I agreed.

We walked back to the inn and said good night before going into our separate rooms.

I was just about to go to sleep when I remembered something from earlier. My exsphere, I had to remove it and see if I could feel anything to make sure it wasn't a cruxis crystal. I sat up and placed my hand on my exsphere. I then removed it and the keycrest. I waited a bit, then I felt the slightly cold room temperature.

Oh crap, I had a cruxis crystal. Which meant that if I kept it on for too long, I would become soulless. Why the hell did whoever sent me there have to give me a cruxis crystal. I like feeling stuff and all that. I guess I really am so weak that I had to have a cruxis crystal and not an exsphere to help me fight.

Wait, I was able to feel stuff, just not hot or cold. Which meant that it was slowly but surely draining my humanity. That meant that I would have to keep the cruxis crystal off as often as I could. But I still needed it to fight, and for other stuff. Damn, this was going to be hard.

That was probably the reason the Renegades were after my exsphere…er… cruxis crystal. I guess they wanted to get it out of my hands. They must have thought I was of Cruxis, because one, I had a cruxis crystal and two, I had no records. The reason I believe that, is because they wanted to execute me!

I finally sighed and set my cruxis crystal on the night stand and went to sleep.

The next morning Colette woke me up.

"C'mon Sarah, get!" Colette chirped.

"Mm, I don't want to get up yet," I groaned but got up anyways.

"Is something wrong? Usually your not like this, and you're usually up before everyone else," Colette said, a bit worried.

"Nothings wrong, I just don't feel as full of energy as usual," I muttered.

"Okay, I'll be down stairs," Colette chirped and left me to myself.

I looked over at my cruxis crystal.

"The reason I was like that before must have been because of the cruxis crystal. Looks like I'm back to normal," I said to myself.

I got up and stretched my arms. I then took off the bandages that were still on my arms to see that they were healed enough not to need the bandages. I then unwrapped the bandages the were still on my head. I didn't feel any pain any more and there wasn't any blood.

Afterwards, I put on my vest and slipped on my gloves. I zipped my vest up half way and strapped on my belts. I grabbed my cruxis crystal and hesitated on putting it on. When I did, I couldn't feel the temperature any more.

"Looks like it picks up where it left off. This'll just make things even harder, damn it," I muttered.

I zipped up my vest the rest of the way and sighed. I would have to tell Lloyd about my cruxis crystal later. I made sure I had everything I needed and went downstairs. Everyone besides Lloyd was down there.

"Good morning, Sarah!" Colette chirped.

"Good morning, Colette, everyone," I greeted.

"How are your injuries?" Raine asked.

"They're pretty much healed," I answered.

"That's good to here," Raine commented.

Colette, Genis and I started talking about random topics. Raine decided to read a book and said something every now and then. We were just waiting for Lloyd to get up.

After waiting a while inside we moved outside to wait for Lloyd. Then, he finally came out to join us.

The conversation went like it did in the game and we headed for the Triet Ruins. We ran into a few fights with monsters but nothing big. We got to the Triet Ruins around noon.

"Ah, so hot… man, I'm beat," Lloyd complained.

"See? You're already worn out," Genis said.

"I'm sick of this desert," Lloyd complained again.

"Stop complaining! Sarah's wearing darker clothes than you are and she hasn't complained at all," Genis informed.

"Actually, the reason I don't complain is because I was born in Triet and lived here for five years before moving to Luin. So I'm use to the heat," I said, coming up with an excuse quickly. I didn't want the others to find out about not feeling hot or cold.

That's when Noishe started to whine and Sammy started growling.

"What's wrong, Noishe?" Lloyd asked.

I took out my daggers and unsheathed them. Sammy's growl translated to "enemies."

"Be on your guard, there are enemies about," Kratos informed, unsheathing his sword.

At that moment, two fire elements shot out of the sand. The elements started to cast fireball. Luckily they're slow casters so I was able to attack one and stop the casting. Kratos took care of the other one. The others joined in after that.

Lloyd, Kratos and I took the frontlines as usual. Raine and Genis stayed in the back and Colette covered both of them, attacking from in front of them. Lloyd and I worked together on one of the elements, Kratos took care of the other one.

The elements were easy to take down. Just several slashes from both Lloyd and I and it was down. Well, not before it had knocked me back with an attack. I just rammed into me, but I wasn't hurt too much.

After defeating the fire elements, Sammy ran up to me and made sure I was alright.

"This is going to be a nuisance," Kratos muttered.

"What is?" Lloyd asked.

"Ah, nothing. Anyways, it would be a good idea for you to learn techniques to protect yourselves," Kratos stated.

"Are you talking about self-defense training?" Colette asked.

"I've had enough self-defense training," I muttered, under my breath so it was barely audible.

"Did you say something?" Colette wondered.

"No, no, nothing at all," I lied.

"It's something like that. Techniques to raise your defense during battles. I'll show you how it's done. Once you grasp the theory, the rest should be easy," Kratos said.

_'Oh crap, I haven't performed a single technique since I got here. Will I be able to perform a defensive one?' _

Kratos showed us his guardian and explained about the theory. Kratos started by helping Lloyd first.

I repeated the theory in my head over and over again. I was nervous about whether I'd be able to perform the technique or not.

I concentrated on what Kratos told us to do. I closed my eyes and imagined the mana surround me in a protective shield. I didn't feel anything happen and opened my eyes. Nothing, so far I've gotten no where on my first try. That was probably the first time I had failed to accomplish even a little bit on the first try. Well, like they say, there's a first time for everything, especially in that world.

I looked over and Lloyd had already accomplished his guardian with Kratos' help. Raine and Genis were close to getting there and Colette was still getting hers down. I had gotten no where.

After a while, everyone but me had gotten the technique down. Even with help I couldn't perform the technique. It even backfired on me. We just gave up on it. I was pretty hopeless with techniques.

_'I guess I can't use any techniques. I wonder if angel skills count. I hope they don't, at least then I might be able to use those.' _

I just ignored everyone's conversation about the new technique. I was being angry with myself and Sammy was trying to cheer me up.

"Hmm, what happened to Noishe?" Raine wondered.

I looked around and didn't see any sign of him. Lloyd looked surprised that Noishe was gone.

"You're right. He's gone. Ah, man, he's run off again," Lloyd complained.

"He's probably nervous about the monsters. I think it would be best not to count on Noishe in places with monsters around," Kratos said.

Lloyd glared at Kratos for saying that.

After that we approached the ruins. Colette examined the pedestal.

"Say, is this the seal? It has my families crest on it…" Colette examined.

"Fantastic!" Raine shouted.

I twitched slightly at the loudness of her voice.

Everyone turned to look at Raine. She was romantically looking that the slab of the ruins.

"Look at this slab covering the entrance! It's clearly of a different composition than the surrounding stone!" Raine continued in her ruin mode, "Hahahaha! It's just as I thought!"

Raine crouched down and felt the slab.

"This is polycarbonate, developed during the Ancient War to defend against magic! Oh, feel the smooth surface! It's wondrous!" Raine shouted.

_'Hm, polycarbonate is just plastic on Earth. On Earth, you can just melt plastic easily with fire. This is weird… I'll think about it later.'_

"…Is she always like this?" Kratos questioned Genis.

Raine was examining the slab and pedestal.

"…Is she?" Lloyd asked.

Genis sighed, "…I've been trying so hard to hide it, too."

"Hmm? This depression… it reads, "oracle stone." Colette, place your hand here. That should reveal the entrance," Raine said.

I decided to ignore the rest of the conversation. I walked a little ways from the group so I could talk to Sammy. I looked over at her.

"You should probably stay out here Sammy, I'll be fine" I said.

Sammy whined, which translated to "You make me worry when you say that… I want to come with you. I will not trust your safety to any of these people."

"Don't worry, these guys are strong, I'll be alright," I reassured.

I didn't want to take Sammy with me into any of the seals. The memory of seeing Corrine die at the Temple of Lightening made me afraid of losing Sammy at one of the seals or in any of the major battles.

Translation: "I still don't truly trust these people, but you have good judgment so I'll stay here. Just be careful and try to come out with as few injuries as possible."

I smiled, relieved that Sammy agreed.

"I try my best, don't worry," I said.

I looked over and the others were already starting to go into the ruins.

"Bye Sammy," I said and followed the others into the temple.

When we got inside the temple Raine was still in ruin mode.

"Sarah! You absolutely must tell me all you know about this temple!" Raine shouted, thinking that I knew the most about the temple.

"Um, well… These ruins use to be the city of Triet, but then Efreet went out of control and destroyed the city. This temple is were Efreet resides. It would be best to be careful around here, there are probably traps still lying around. This part is the actual temple of the old city of Triet, so normally, it would have traps. Efreet and the altar should be at the heart of the temple," I said, thinking up of as much information that I could remember.

"Do you have an idea of why Efreet went out of control?" Raine asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's because of a broken vow," I answered.

"Broken vow?" Raine questioned.

"Somebody must have created a pact with Efreet. In order to make a pact, you must give the summon spirit a vow. If the vow is broken, then so is the pact. Efreet must have taken the broken vow hard and went on a rampage. I'm not sure if a broken vow is the reason or not, but it's the only reason I can think of," I answered.

"Were did you learn all this?" Raine asked.

_'Oops, I said too much, crap!'_

"I read this really old book that I found near some ruins when I was 13," I lied quickly.

"I see, do you still have that book?" Raine asked, looking really hopeful.

"No, it got destroyed when I got into a battle with a couple of monsters," I replied.

"Oh… that's too bad. I would have loved to read it," Raine said, disappointed.

_'Everything can be solved by books. Thank you person who invented books!'_

I felt a chill run down my spine. I glanced over to see Kratos glaring at me.

_'Crap, I should've kept my big mouth shut. Now Kratos is suspicious of me. Hopefully I won't make a mistake like that again. I do not want to be killed for knowing to much.'_

* * *

**Me: That's it. It doesn't seem very good to me.**

**Genis: You seem tired with this story.**

**Me: Nah, I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping lately so the days feel like just one really long day. I've lost track of the days about five times. Now I know how Colette must have felt when she couldn't sleep.**

**Genis: Why haven't you been sleeping.**

**Me: I don't know. Anyways, I'd like to recieve more votes on a pairing or not. An if so, who. Please review and vote!**


	9. Talking and Fighting The Seal Guardian

**Me: I'm sleepy.**

**Genis: I'm not suprised. You still haven't slept very much since your last update.**

**Me: I get too caught up in writing and forget to sleep.**

**Genis: Geeze...**

**Me:Anyways, so far the votes for the pairing is one for no pairing, two for Lloyd and one for Zelos. **

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

* * *

We had just used the warp panel to enter the seal room. The puzzle wasn't that hard to figure out. I had kept my mouth shut after the slip up. No one seemed to notice my silence, which wasn't too surprising to me.

Anyways, Raine was in ruin mode, and I had to admit, ruin mode scared me. I placed my hand on my weapon, ready for the soon to come fight. I knew this was going to be a tough battle. I was just relieved that Sammy wasn't there. I was still scared about losing her.

That's when the Ktugach and the two Ktugachlings made their appearance. I pulled out my weapon and got ready to fight. Kratos started giving instructions on a strategy to defeat them.

Kratos took on the Ktugach, Lloyd and I each took one of the Ktugachlings. We were to detract them away from Raine and Genis so that they could cast. Colette was to guard Genis and Raine and attack from in front of them, but far enough away so she wouldn't get hurt.

When I got the Ktugachling I decided that it would be best to attack from the side. I finally got close enough to the seal guardian and struck it in the ribs. It cried out in pain and tried to hit me with its tail. I jumped out of range of its tail, but I still got a few cuts over on stomach. Luckily, it wasn't too bad and I was able to continue fighting.

The seal guardian made a swipe for me with its claws. I jumped away then quickly counterattacked. When I counterattacked it tried to bite me but I cut the jaw and got my hand out of the way. It cried again in pain and decided to use a basic attack. I charged at me and I tried to move out of the way. I wasn't fast enough and one of its spikes ripped through my side.

I collapsed to one knee and held my side in pain. The seal guardian charged at me again. This time, as soon as I saw it coming at me I moved out of the way. The way I was fighting Ktugachling reminded me at that moment about sparring at Tae Kwon Do. It was just like a simple game of tag.

It kept charging at me and I was able to anticipate its moves. I dodged another charge attack and rammed both of my daggers into its ribs. It cried out of pain and quickly turned to me. I pulled out my daggers and tried to dodge its attack but I couldn't move fast enough. It knocked me to ground where I skidded to a stop on my back.

"Damn it, I can't die here. I made a promise that I would be okay," I muttered as I struggled to get up.

So far it was pretty useless to try and stand. The Ktugachling was already charging at me so that it could finish me off. It happened quickly, the seal guardian was above me and tried to kill me with its claw. I did the first thing that I could think of, I jabbed both my blades into the monster where, theoretically, its heart should have been.

The monster stopped immediately after I did that. Blood splattered over me and then it fell over on it's side, dead. It's claws had been centimeters away from me. That hadn't scared me, it terrified me. I shook my head, cleared it, then sat up. I was still in danger and I couldn't just sit there. I pulled my daggers out of the dead seal guardian. I slowly stood up. I was very weak, I hadn't gotten my injury healed yet, and I had lost a lot of blood.

"Sarah! Retreat to the back for now! That injury needs to be healed!" Kratos called from his battle with the Ktugach.

I nodded and staggered to the back where Raine's attention was immediately turned to me.

"Don't strain yourself and sit down," Raine instructed.

I nodded and sat down. I was wincing in pain ever since I sat up after killing the Ktugachling. Raine started using First Aid to heal my injuries. I looked over and saw that Lloyd and Kratos were working together to defeat the Ktugach. I sighed, at least I was useful to defeating one of the seal guardians.

"There, your healed now. But don't go back into battle yet, it's almost over and your injury could reopen," Raine said.

"Right, thank you," I replied and stood up.

I looked over to the battle and saw that Kratos had just delivered the finishing blow.

We heard Remiel's voice command Colette to offer her prayers at the alter. Colette accepted and walked up to the alter.

I looked over to the mana flowing out of the alter and saw Efreet. I blinked and all I saw was an outline. It was really weird, I was seeing Efreet in the flow of mana at the alter. I wondered if anybody else saw it. I was going to ask but decided to save it for later since right now was a moment not to be interrupted.

After Remiel disappeared Lloyd and Genis went over to Colette to see her wings. I looked over at the flow of mana and I could still see the outline, weird. I decided that I wouldn't say anything.

"He said the next place was across the sea! That means we get to sail on a ship! Haha! I can't wait!" Lloyd cheered.

"A ship…hmm. I wonder if there are any ships sailing with the way things are right now," Raine said.

"We should head to the coast to see what we can find," Kratos suggested.

"What about you, Sarah?" Raine asked.

"Umm… Well, we could head to Izoold, they should have some boats sailing since it's a fishing port. We'll have to cross the Ossa Trail to get there," I answered, talking like I had actually traveled though there.

"Alright then, it's settled," Kratos confirmed.

We then left the Triet Ruins and Colette collapsed when we got out. Everything went how it was supposed to because I didn't interject with the conversation, I just stood aside.

We then started to set up camp with Colette resting. I got stuck with the job of finding fire wood. Seriously, where would I find fire wood in the desert. Sammy came with me as I walked away from the soon to be camp site. I started looking around for firewood, and surprisingly I found a couple of dead trees with broken branches around them.

"Weird, it looks like a fight went down here. Don't you think, Sammy?" I asked.

Translation: "I must agree, and from the looks of it, the fight was recent. It would be best to gather the fire wood quickly and return to camp."

"What's the worst that could happen? There aren't many places to hide anyways," I replied as I walked over to pick up some wood.

Translation: "Don't be so carefree, you'll get yourself hurt!"

I rolled my eyes, "Really Sammy, you need to stop worrying. Even if monsters do attack, they shouldn't be to hard to handle. Also, the others aren't too far away," I responded.

Translation: "Over-confidence breeds carelessness."

I stopped picking up firewood and faced Sammy.

"You just said one of Kratos' lines. You're starting to sound like him now," I said.

Translation: "Well, he is correct. You should listen to him more often."

"I'd rather get it from you than from him," I muttered loudly and turned back to picking up wood.

Translation: "Why would that be?"

"If he wanted to, he could kill me easily. Do you really think that I'd want to die at 17?" I asked.

Translation: "Well, actually you'd die at 13 since you've lived only 13 years. You just look 17."

"It doesn't matter if I'm actually 13. When I came here my appearance turned to one of a 17 year old. So I'm just gonna say I'm 17. It's not my fault I got a few years scrapped off my life," I retorted.

Translation: "Actually it is. You accepted this journey and now we're in this situation."

"Okay, it's my fault. I'm sorry, I just wanted something to keep me busy. I should have just declined the offer. There's no way I'm cut out for this. I've never been away from home this long. I've never even been camping," I said, disappointed in myself.

Translation: "I think that you are cut out for this. You have a spirit that never gives up. No matter how many times someone puts you down, I just keep trying. Never giving up is something that'll get you through anything."

I sighed, "I guess your right. Besides, if I ever want to get home I have to complete this journey. Also, I have your support, and the support of the others. I just wish I didn't have to lie to them."

Translation: "Why don't you tell them the truth?"

"I can't do that. If I told them the truth I'd be telling them that I know the future. Everyone would be relying solely one me and Kratos would probably kill me. That or Cruxis would decide I'm useful and try to capture me, along with the Renegades when they find out," I said.

Translation: "That does seem like a problem. I guess it would be best to continue lying to them."

I sighed again, "We probably shouldn't talk about this. I don't want anybody over hearing this."

Translation: "Do you have the firewood?"

"Yeah, I think I've got enough here," I answered.

Sammy and I then walked back to camp and gave them the fire wood.

"I'm surprised you found so much," Raine said.

"I found a bunch of dead trees over there," I replied, pointing behind me.

So we got the fire going and Genis started cooking. I walked over to where Genis was preparing the ingredients.

"Need any help?" I asked.

"Yeah, could you start cutting the vegetables?" Genis replied.

"Sure," I answered and sat down.

I started cutting the vegetables quickly, with out cutting myself.

"Wow, your fast," Genis commented.

I paused and looked over at him.

"Well, I use to always watch my mom cook, and she usually cut up vegetables for the meal. I guess I got it from watching her," I replied, then went back to cooking.

"Do you like cooking?" Genis asked.

"Yeah, ever since I was little," I answered.

"How good was your cooking when you first started?" He questioned.

"I think it was pretty good. My brother always asked me to make him some soup with noodles because he said that I always got both the broth and noodles flavored," I answered.

"So you always got the flavor balanced. That's pretty hard to do for me," Genis said.

"It's not too hard. To get the flavor balanced in soup, just add in part of the spices at the very beginning then near the end add the rest," I explained.

"Oh I get it, that way the contents of the soup soak up the flavor at first then the broth gets it's flavor when you add in the rest," Genis said.

"Exactly," I responded and noticed I was done with the vegetables. "Here, I finished," I handed him the vegetables.

"Thanks, I think I'll get better at cooking with what you told me," Genis smiled.

"It was no problem," I replied, embarrassed.

"Did you ever mess up when cooking?" Genis asked.

"Who hasn't?" I answered.

"What happened?" He asked, eager to know about my mess up.

"I was making pancakes and accidentally left them there for too long and it started a fire," I replied.

"Wow, you started a fire?" He repeated.

"It was an accident," I defended.

"Don't worry about, I accidentally started a fire while cooking too," Genis said.

"I'm pretty sure anybody that has tried cooking has started a fire or at least burnt the dish," I replied.

Genis soon finished cooking with my help.

After I had eaten, I went over to Sammy and sat down next to her. Sammy got up after I sat down and laid down behind me. She curled up so the her head laid on my lap and I could lean back against her. I started petting her head. I felt really safe at that moment. I leaned back and looked at the stars and moon.

I don't know why, but I've always loved the night sky. It always made me comfortable when I looked up at it.

"Hey Sarah," Lloyd said, walking up to me.

I turned my attention from the sky to Lloyd.

"Hi Lloyd," I greeted, smiling.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Lloyd asked.

"Not at all," I replied.

"So you like the stars?" Lloyd asked, as he sat down next to me.

"Not just the stars, the moon as well. The night sky makes me feel comfortable when I look at it," I answered and gazed at the sky briefly.

"Why?" He asked.

"I guess it's because my brother and I use to play outside when it was dark. We also use to look at the sky sometimes. Then there's also the time my mom took me outside at night to watch a meteor shower. Also, when I was around four, my mom and dad took me outside to just star gaze," I answered.

"I can't remember much about my mom and dad, but I kinda remember my dad taking me out to star gaze. I remember seeing a shooting star that night," Lloyd said.

"Did you wish for something?" I asked.

"I can't remember," Lloyd replied.

"Don't worry, I kinda have a memory like that. I was with my mom outside and I just saw a shooting star. I can't remember what I wished for though," I said.

"I kinda noticed that Sammy is almost always with you, why didn't she come when we went to the seal?" Lloyd asked.

"I didn't want her to get hurt. I knew there was going to be a big battle in there, and I was kinda scared of Sammy getting hurt," I answered, looking down at Sammy and petting her head.

"She's really loyal, huh?" Lloyd said.

"Yeah, she really wants to protect me… Can I tell you something with out you thinking I'm crazy?" I asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" He wondered.

"I can understand what Sammy says. That's why I moved away from the group before we went into the ruins. I was talking to Sammy," I explained.

"I think that's kinda cool. So you can actually have a conversation with her?" Lloyd asked, smiling.

"Yep!" I smiled.

"So has she said anything about any of us?" Lloyd asked.

"Um, not really, she's only said one thing about you guys," I answered.

"What was it?" Lloyd asked, over enthusiastic.

"She said she didn't trust my safety to any of you," I replied truthfully.

"She… doesn't trust us?" Lloyd asked.

"Yep, but she's just over protective, don't worry about it" I added quickly.

Lloyd yawned and got up, "I'm gonna go to sleep, night."

"Okay, good night," I said.

I leaned back against Sammy and sighed. I was really starting to miss my home and family, my brother most of all. I shook my head at myself. I was too clingy with my brother. This journey would probably be good for me, I would stop being so dependant on him. But I still couldn't help it, I missed my brother and that wouldn't change.

I looked up at the sky and whispered, "I miss you, brother. I wish I could see you again."

I then turned to my right and laid down with my head against Sammy. She shifted so that we were both more comfortable. She whine softly.

Translation: "Good night, and I'm sure your brother would be proud of you for being strong about this."

"Thanks Sammy, good night," I whispered and fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up and found that the sun was just about to rise. I woke up early and didn't feel tired because I forgot to remove my Cruxis Crystal last night.

I sat up and looked around camp. The only one up was Kratos, not surprising. I looked down at Sammy to see her still asleep. I smiled at her and started to stroke her fur. Even though I missed home, I still had Sammy with me.

"Sarah," I hear Kratos call.

I turned my attention to him and asked, "What is it?"

"Your skills are unrefined, how long have you been using those weapons?" He asked.

"I know, and I have been using them for very long. I taught myself how to use these weapons… Would you mind training me?" I replied.

Kratos sighed and answered, "Alright then, but I won't be easy on you."

"Don't worry, my last instructor didn't go easy on me either. He taught me hand to hand combat," I responded.

"What would not going easy mean to your instructor?" He asked.

"When I first started his class, he put me up against the most experienced student in a sparring match," I answered.

"I see," He responded.

That's when Sammy lifted her head and nudged my shoulder with her nose. I smiled at her and started to pet her head. I looked over at the fire to see that there wasn't any firewood left and it was about to go out. I stood up and dusted myself off.

"I'm gonna go get more firewood," I said, before leaving with Sammy right behind me.

When we got over to where the dead trees were Sammy sat down and to wait for me.

"I'm going to be training with Kratos," I reported to Sammy while I started to pick up firewood.

Translation: "I see. Just be careful I don't want you getting hurt."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be too bad," I responded.

Translation: "But still… Something just doesn't seem right, just watch your back."

"I might slip up sometimes but I'm always watching my back," I replied.

Translation: "How long do you think this journey will last?"

"I'm not sure, but I have to get stronger if I want to get home. I'm not gonna give up," I answered, determinedly.

Translation: "That's the Sarah I know! Never giving up even if things are stacked against her!"

"Hehe, yeah. I just wish my brother was here to watch me. I'd probably make him proud because of this," I smiled.

Translation: "I'm sure he's always been proud of your accomplishments. He probably just has a hard time showing it."

"Maybe," I whispered slightly.

Translation: "You better not start doubting yourself!"

"Sorry, sorry! I'll try to stop doubting myself!" I defended.

I finished picking up the fire wood and started to head back to camp. When I got there everyone except Lloyd was up.

"Good morning, everyone," I called.

"Good morning, Sarah!" Colette chirped.

I set the fire wood down and sat down next to Colette.

It wasn't very long until we were ready to leave. It had taken a while to wake up Lloyd though. But I was able to wake him because of the experience I had with having to wake up my brother. We had decided to stop in Triet to stock up on supplies before leaving to Ossa Trail.

We were going to spend the night in Triet then head to the Ossa Trail since it took most of the day to get Triet. I had volunteered to get the supplies while everyone else went to the inn.

I bought all the supplies that Raine had written down. It was just the basics, apple gels, orange gels, ect. After buying that stuff I bought myself two journals, a sewing kit, and a bunch of arts and crafts stuff. I bought the arts and crafts because it would help keep me busy. One of the journals was to write down the events of the journey, like a historical record thing, and the other was to write down my thoughts and other stuff like a diary.

I returned to the inn and gave the supplies to Raine. I went to mine and Colette's room and sat down on the bed. I took out a bunch of fabric and the sewing kit. I wanted to create a doll from scratch. My mom use to make dolls for me when I was little, so I wanted to see if I was as creative as her.

It didn't take long for me to finish, I've always been one to get things done quickly. When I looked at my finished creation, I thought it was pretty good for a first try. The hair on the doll was blond and I used black buttons for eyes. It also had a red dress with blue trimming. I looked it over a smiled.

'_Maybe I could give this to Colette as a late birthday present.'_

Just then the door opened and Colette walked in.

"Hi Sarah, I was wondering if you were okay because you've been up here a while," Colette smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. I was just working on something," I answered and walked up to her.

"Was were you working on?" She asked.

"Here, I couldn't help it. Happy late birthday," I laughed slightly and handed her the doll.

She took it and smiled widely. Her face brightened at the sight of it.

"Oh, thank you! It looks really nice and it's so cute!" Colette chirped really happily.

"No problem, it was my first try with making a doll from scratch," I replied, smiling and blushing slightly. I still wasn't use to being complimented.

"You made it from scratch? Wow! That's so creative!" Colette responded.

"Nah, my mom is way more creative. This is probably amateur compared to hers," I said.

"Wow, she must be really creative!" Colette said amazed.

"Yeah, she is. She use to make all my clothes when I was little," I replied.

So after that Colette brought me down stairs for dinner. She showed the others the doll happily. That resulted in me having a red face for most of the time. I really had to start getting use to compliments. I was in a different world where mostly everyone is nice beyond compare.

That night I remembered to remove my cruxis crystal. It didn't take me long to fall asleep for some reason. It usually took me at least an hour. But then again, I didn't have anything on my mind.

I woke up in the middle of the night like I usually did. I don't know why I usually wake up in the middle of the night but I do. I wanted to get some fresh air so I slipped on my boots and a quietly left the room. I made sure to stay close to the wall so I would make as little noise as possible.

When I got outside I breathed in the fresh air and sighed. I looked over to see that Sammy and Noishe were sleeping. I smiled and walked to the deeper part of town. I didn't want to wake them up. I looked at the oasis from the dock. The moon in the sky and its reflection in the water along with the stars and their reflection made it look beautiful.

I sighed contently and let my body relax. It was slightly cold but the sight of everything caused me to ignore it. I just focused on the view.

After enjoying the view I returned to the inn and fell back to sleep. Although when I was returning to the inn I was sure I saw someone out of the corner of my eye. I just ignored it because I thought I was being paranoid.

The next morning we head off for Ossa Trail. While we were traveling I wrote in my journal about everything that had happened to that point. It was going to be a history record for the soon to be Aselia. That's what the world would be called once it was brought back together. Kratos also started training Lloyd and I when ever the group took a break. Sammy always sat close by to watch our training sessions.

It took us about three days to reach the Ossa Trail. I had kept my cruxis crystal on for the entire three days. So now I couldn't feel pain or anything and I was slowly starting to lose my need to sleep. My humanity was being taken away faster than Colette's. I decided to keep my cruxis crystal off when ever I wasn't fighting.

This was _not_ going to be an easy journey.

* * *

**Me: I'm starting to have doubts about my story.**

**Genis: It's probably because you haven't slept much.**

**Me: Maybe, but I'm still doubtful.**

**Genis: *sigh* I give up.**

**Me: Anyways, I'd like more votes for the pairing because I'm not really sure. So please vote and review! Thanks for reading!**


	10. Sammy,,,

**Me: This chapter almost made me cry whn I was reading it. But luckily I knew this wold neve happen so I didn't cry.**

**Genis: Really, why did you write this?**

**Me: Because the idea just came into my head and I thought it would help make a good chapter.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me:Except for Sarah and Sammy and all the plot twists. Also, go to my profile and check out the fanart Frutillas drew. It's so cute and awesome!**

* * *

We had finally reached the Ossa Trail. I was starting to get tired of all the walking. Something was finally going to happen. I was thinking about the fight with Sheena and how funny it would be to see her fall down the maintenance hatch.

'_At least it won't be me falling down something.'_

I still remembered the incident with the sand dune in the Triet desert. I also started to remember all the times I said gravity hated me.

We decided to take a short break just before going through the Ossa Trail. I sat on one of the rocks around the entrance and looked at the sky to think. I had a habit of looking up or down when thinking. I was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to anything. Not usually a good thing to do.

"Hey, Sarah!" Lloyd shouted.

Like I said, I was too deep in thought to even notice him come up to me. It made me jump, which cause me to fall backwards off the rock.

"Owww," I wined, while sitting up.

"Ouch, that looked like it hurt. Are you okay?" Lloyd asked, offering me a hand up.

"I'm okay, worse has happened," I answered and accepted the hand up.

I stood up with Lloyd's help and dusted myself off.

"Worse?" He asked.

"Long story," I responded.

"I have time," He shrugged.

"Okay then," I replied and leaned against the rock. "It was around my 12th birthday and I had invited my friends over for a party. The last thing we decided to do was sit on the roof and star gaze. When I was about to get on the roof after handing one of my friends a blanket, I slipped and fell. My friends thought I had died, but I surprised them when I turned out with barely any injuries."

"What kind of injuries did you get?" He asked.

"I just strained both my arms, nothing big. I did have a hard time in my combat class though, since I couldn't put my hands into fist without it hurting, especially since we had to spar that day," I reminisced.

"Whoa, bad luck," Lloyd replied simply.

"No kidding, I had to go up against the strongest in the class too," I added.

"The person who taught you didn't go easy, huh?" Lloyd asked.

"Not at all, but that did help me become the best in my class. I would probably be top rank right around now if I had finished the classes," I replied.

"You didn't finish your classes?" Lloyd asked.

"No, I had to quite because in the middle of sparring matches I would start to break out in coughing fits. It only got worse as I continued the classes. When I got my exsphere, my coughing fits stopped and I didn't have any trouble keeping up a fight. But I couldn't continue the classes again because I started looking for my brother," I explained.

"Sorry I asked," Lloyd responded.

"Don't worry, I'm over it," I responded.

Soon everyone got ready to continue to the Ossa Trail. I kept looking to my left thinking that I'd see Sheena waiting on a ledge. Surprisingly, I a glimpse of her pink obi. I smirked to myself at the soon to come events.

"Stop!"

'_Here we go, this should be funny.'_

Everyone stopped and looked at the owner of the voice. Sheens jumped down and blocked our path.

"What?" Lloyd asked, surprised.

"Is she a friend of yours Lloyd?" Colette asked, turning to him.

"Not that I'm aware of," Lloyd answered honestly. He turn to me and asked, "What about you?"

"Nope, can't say she is," I answered, shaking my head.

"…Is the chosen of mana among you?" Sheena asked.

"Oh, that's me!" Colette chirped, turning her attention away from Lloyd.

I sighed and shook my head. I still don't get how she could be that air-headed. I looked over at Colette then noticed my position, I was right behind the maintenance hatch. I decided not to move since it would seem strange and probably raise questions.

Sheena turned to Colette and readied her cards.

"…Prepare to die!" She shouted and charged at Colette.

I took out my weapon and stood my ground. I had to look like I was going to protect her since I was closest. If I didn't look like I was going to protect her, a lot of questions would be raised.

Lloyd tried to rush in but Colette stumbled backwards and hit the lever. Sheena was right in front of me when it opened. There was a chorus of Uh-oh's before Sheena fell. By instinct, I guess, she tried to grab hold of something. She grabbed my arm, since I was closest, and ended up pulling me down with her.

We landed with a thud at the bottom. You know, Gnome must really hate. I always seem to fall down things. The sand dune, the cliff near the Iselia human ranch, and now the maintenance hatch at the Ossa Trail. Anyways, I sat up and looked around. I saw Sheena still sitting on the ground rubbing her head.

I sighed and decided to try and make peace with her. I stood up and walked over to her. I offered a helping hand to her. Sheena looked at me confused but took it anyways.

"Why would you help me up? I'm your enemy," Sheena explained.

"You don't seem like you really want to hurt us. Also, you must have a good reason to want to kill the chosen, but I'm not going to ask. Besides, if we want to get out of here, it'd be best to work together. So how about a truce, at least for now?" I asked, holding my hand out for her to shake.

She paused and looked deep in thought. She looked at my outstretched hand and paused again before shaking it.

"You're right, I don't want to hurt you guys, but I do have a good reason. A truce would be a good idea, so deal," Sheena replied.

"Good, I don't want to hurt you either," I smiled and took my hand back.

"I'm gonna have to fight you and your friends when we get out of here though," Sheena informed.

"What has to be done, has to be done," I shrugged it off.

"That line just reminded me of one of my friends," Sheena responded.

'_Ah, so she does consider Zelos a friend.'_

"Really? That's interesting," I replied.

"The guy's an idiot," Sheena muttered.

"Oh yes, that makes me feel really good about myself," I sarcastically said.

"You heard that? Sorry," Sheena blushed slightly.

"Nah it's okay, I don't mind," I responded, shrugging it off.

"C'mon, I don't want to be here too long," Sheena said.

I nodded and looked down the tunnel. I had to let my eyes adjust.

"I can't see a thing," Sheena commented.

"Follow me, I can slightly see," I responded and started walking down the tunnel.

I heard Sheena's foot steps following me.

"How can you see through this darkness?" Sheena asked.

"I honestly have no idea," I replied and continued walking.

I heard Sheena's foot steps pause then continue. She was probably thinking about whether to trust me or not.

After a little while of walking, the silence was starting to get on my nerves. It made things seem really eerie.

"My name's Sarah, what about you?" I asked.

"You're pretty soft hearted, aren't you?" She asked.

"I admit it, yes, I'm soft hearted. But that's just the way I am," I responded.

"Humph, Sheena Fujibayashi. You seem like a good person, too bad we can't be friends," Sheena replied.

"That's the way the world works. People who could be friends are put on opposing sides. And the only reason those opposing sides are created is because those people can't open their minds to each other," I explained.

"Wow, you've thought about that deeply," Sheena commented.

"I've thought about a lot of things deeply. When you're alone often, you have time," I responded.

"You know, you could probably talk some sense into that idiot friend I mentioned," Sheena said.

"Heh, I've talked sense into many people before. One of my friends, not any of the ones that I was with when we met, but one from my home town, she wanted to commit suicide. I talked her out of it with out too much trouble," I responded.

I wasn't lying there, I was being honest. That really happened.

"Wow… You must be a good at talking to people," Sheena complimented.

I nodded my head and looked around the area. I spotted light coming into the tunnel.

"Hey! We're almost out!" I pointed out.

Sheena looked around and saw the light too.

"Finally, this darkness was starting to creep me out a bit," Sheena commented and sighed.

We rushed over to the light and found the wooden wall that blocked the way.

"Well, after we get out of here, we'll be enemies again. Although, I'm glad to have met you… I'm going to be using a guardian to help me fight, I don't want to hurt you, so fight the guardian instead," Sheena instructed.

I smirked, "No problem, and I'm glad I met you too."

"Stand back, I'm gonna blow this door down," Sheena commanded and took her spell cards out.

I heard talking coming towards the wooden wall.

"Wait, I can hear my friends coming. I can't let them know I was helping you. They'll ask questions and think I'm an enemy. What should we do?" I asked.

"Hmm, you think you can knock this wall down?" Sheena asked.

I tapped it with my knuckles to see how sturdy it was. I found it wouldn't be too hard to knock down.

"I think so," I nodded.

"Alright, then knock it down and run. I'll pretend to attack you," Sheena instructed.

"Thank you," I replied.

I took out my weapon to make it look like I was fighting her. I then walked a few paces away from the door and charged at it. I rammed it with my shoulder and knocked it down. I ran just like Sheena had instructed. I stopped when I thought I had put enough distance between us. I turned around and faced Sheena in a fighting stance.

"…W…wait!" Sheena called and got in her fighting stance.

"…Wow, she and Sarah caught up with us," Lloyd pointed out.

I looked over to my right and saw them.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Colette exclaimed, relieved. She took a few steps towards us.

"D…Don't move!" Sheena called, lowering her stance.

"A wise decision," Raine put in.

"…I won't be caught off guard this time! Prepare to die!" Sheena exclaimed and charged at us.

She summoned her guardian and charged at the others. I went straight to the guardian. Lloyd decided to help me attack the guardian. Kratos fought Sheena, Raine and Genis stayed in the back to cast and Colette guarded them and attacked from there.

The guardian tried to swipe at us but I jumped backwards to dodge and Lloyd ducked. I rushed back in and slashed at the wind guardian. I then realized that it would be easier to have Lloyd attack from the front and have myself attack the back.

"Lloyd! Keep attack from the front! I'll attack from the back!" I ordered.

"Right!" Lloyd agreed and continued to attack the front.

I then moved away from the guardian and circled to the back. I rushed back in and started slashing at it's back. It was much easier to attack an enemy from the back. It was getting kind of annoying because I couldn't perform any techniques and it was getting repetitive.

After much repetitive attacks the guardian was taken down. It had switched back and forth between attack me and attacking Lloyd. The wind guardian disappeared in a puff of smoke. I looked over to Sheena and she noticed that the guardian had been taken down. She jumped away from everyone and stood facing us.

"Ugh… Just you wait! I swear I will kill you all next time!" Sheena called and disappeared.

"Wait!" Lloyd shouted and ran to the spot she was in.

I sighed and shook my head. Lloyd should think before running after an enemy. It's dangerous.

"Why are people trying to kill us?" Lloyd questioned, confused.

"…There are always those who reject salvation," Kratos responded.

"Maybe she's a Desian," Genis guessed.

Lloyd turned to face everyone.

"I don't think so. If she were a Desian she wouldn't have been alone," I commented.

"At any rate, we are in constant danger. That's all we have to know," Kratos informed.

"Those… clothes…" Raine said, staring at the place where Sheena had been.

"Professor, is something wrong?" Lloyd asked.

Everyone turned their attention to Raine.

"No, it's nothing. Let's go," Raine insisted.

"Yeah. Anyways let's head to Izoold to get a ship," Lloyd replied.

We then decided to leave the Ossa Trail. I paused right before leaving and looked around.

"Sarah? Is something wrong?" Lloyd asked.

"Where's Sammy?" I asked, slightly panicked.

"She ran off after you fell through the hidden maintenance passage," Lloyd answered.

"Oh, I hope she's okay," I responded, worried.

I gripped my pendant out of habit. Whenever I was worried or nervous or something like that, I always gripped my pendant.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine," Lloyd said, trying to comfort me.

I then heard howling coming from inside the maintenance passage. I knew that howl anywhere. It was Sammy. My eyes widened and I got really worried because it sounded pained.

"Sammy!" I shouted and ran back to the maintenance passage.

"Sarah! Wait!" Lloyd called back to me.

I ignored him and continued on. I ran in and noticed that the lanterns were lit. It would be easier to find Sammy then. I heard the howling again and quickened my pace. I followed the howling an open space. Sammy was laying on the ground injured. I looked up and saw the Sword Dancer. I ran in front of Sammy and got into fighting stance with my weapons out.

"You'll pay for this!" I shouted and ran at the Sword Dancer.

It was huge by the way. But I didn't let that stop me. It had injured my best friend, I was full of rage, and it was going pay. The Sword Dancer swung two of its swords at me, which I dodged quickly and slashed it. The fight continued like that until an Angel Feathers attack hit the Sword Dancer.

Lloyd, Colette and the others had arrived at the battle scene. Colette noticed how much damage it caused and continued to use Angel Feathers. Lloyd ran up to the Sword Dancer to help me. Genis stayed back to cast spells and Raine and Kratos also stayed back to heal.

It took a while but we finally defeated the Sword Dancer. As soon as it was defeated I ran over to Sammy and knelt down next to her. She was still alive and the injury wasn't too bad. But that didn't stop my crying.

"Sammy, I'm sorry," I cried, repeating "I'm sorry" once more.

Raine rushed over and started to heal Sammy. I was still crying, I hadn't cried for years until then.

"Sarah, it'll be okay. Raine's a great healer, Sammy will be fine," Lloyd reassured.

I tried to wipe away my tears but I wouldn't stop crying. I was blaming myself for this happening. Sammy had gone in there to try and find me but ended up getting hurt instead.

"She'll be fine, she just needs to rest now," Raine said, standing up.

My tears slowed down quite a bit, I was confirmed that Sammy was going to live. But that still couldn't stop my crying completely.

"We should get out of this maintenance passage before any monsters come," Raine suggested.

Everyone agreed and I picked up Sammy. We got out of the maintenance passage and out of the Ossa Trail. It was already late so we set up camp just outside the trail. I set Sammy down carefully and stayed next to her.

It was soon dark and my crying had stopped. Everyone had decided to leave me alone. I was deep in thought.

'_Sammy had gotten hurt because of me. She could've died because of me. She's in pain because of me! What kind of friend am I to have let this happen?!'_

"Sarah, she'll be okay, so don't worry," Lloyd said, coming up to me from behind.

"I know," I said, monotonously.

He paused before saying, "It's not your fault that she got hurt."

"Yes it is. If I had been more careful about where I stood, I wouldn't have gotten dragged down with that assassin and Sammy wouldn't have run off to find me," I argued.

"Look, don't worry about it. What's done is done. All you can do now is make sure she recovers well. Besides, you haven't eaten yet and you've been fighting a lot today," Lloyd reasoned.

"I'm not hungry," I said, simply.

"Everyone's worried about you. Not eating will just make them even more worried," Lloyd commented.

I paused then nodded my head, "Alright, I don't want anybody to worry about me."

"Good, now c'mon!" Lloyd smiled and offered a hand up.

I took it and stood up. I followed Lloyd back to the others.

"Are you feeling any better Sarah?" Raine asked, worry hinted in her voice.

"I'm okay, don't worry," I replied.

"That's good to hear. We were getting worried," Colette responded.

Genis handed me a bowl of soup and said, "Here. I did what you suggested when we camped outside the seal of fire. It worked and now it tastes better."

"Thank you," I said and took the bowl.

After eating I went back over to Sammy to watch over her. I didn't like leaving her alone when she was injured. I stayed there with Sammy for a while until I heard foot steps coming towards me. I looked behind me and saw Genis.

"Hey Sarah, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Genis said.

"Don't worry, I felt better after Lloyd talked to me," I replied, smiling slightly.

"You're really close to Sammy, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's been my best friend ever since I started traveling," I answered.

"Lloyd told us that you could understand what Sammy is saying. I guess that just shows how close you two are," Genis commented.

I nodded and said, jokingly, "I guess I can talk to Sammy without you guys thinking I'm crazy now."

He laughed slightly and said, "Well, at least I know your back to normal. You made a joke out of something."

"That's because I know Sammy will be better soon and that my friends are trying to cheer me up," I smiled.

"Well, I'm going to go to sleep. Good night, Sarah," Genis said and started walking away.

"Good night, Genis," I returned.

I then yawned, and removed my cruxis crystal. I then went to sleep next to Sammy.

The next morning I was woken up by whining and a wet nose. When I opened my eyes Sammy had been the one to wake me up. I smiled brightly at seeing Sammy moving around and sat up quickly to hug her. I wrapped my arms around Sammy's neck, happy that she was okay.

"Sammy, I'm so glad you're okay," I said.

Translation: "Sarah, please forgive. I heard the others say that I caused you to cry."

"Sammy it's alright. Now that you're okay we can just forget about that," I replied.

Translation: "Yes, you are right. Next time something like that happens I'll stay with the others."

"Okay, thanks," I responded and let Sammy go.

Now that all of that was over and done with, we headed to Izoold.

* * *

**Me: Yay! Happy ending!**

**Genis: It's not going to last long, is it?**

**Me: I don't know, but it probably will.**

**Genis: How can you not know? You're the authoress!**

**Me: I decide stuff as I go along and use past events for plot twist and stuff. That way things make sense and all that.**

**Genis: So you haven't pre-planned this?**

**Me: No I have, but it's not very detailed.**

**Genis: Oh...**

**Me: Anyways, people, so far with the pairing things are going towards Lloyd. I think I'll stop accepting votes on the 25th of this month, but I might shorten the time. So, bye people, thanks for reading ad please review and maybe vote! **


	11. Kuro?

**Me: I would have gotten this out sooner, but a storm knocked out the internet for a while.**

**Genis: So any news?**

**Me: Not really, except that I found out that I have a connection to light.**

**Genis: So you have a connection to fire and light now?**

**Me: Yep, I went to this cite an it turned on real name into a japanese name and my first name turned into Asuka which is the original name of Aska, one of the summon spirits of light.**

**Genis: Weird, anyways, she owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that was not originally in the game.**

* * *

While we were walking to Izoold, Kratos decided to give Lloyd and I a lecture on teamwork.

"Lloyd, Sarah," Kratos called.

We looked over at him and slowed our pace to match his.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Fighting in a party means that coordination with your partners is important as well," Kratos started.

"Yeah," Lloyd said.

"Your choice of strategy and orders can greatly affect the tide of battle. Do not forget that you are not alone," Kratos said, mainly to me.

I hadn't been doing too well with teamwork. I kept running off into my own battles. Now I was getting a lecture for it. I was taught to fight solo, not in teams!

"Yeah! I know that already!" Lloyd replied.

"I'm not use to fighting in teams," I admitted.

"You'll get use to it in time," Kratos responded.

"I sure hope so," I muttered.

It was late morning when we saw Izoold in the distance.

"Is that Izoold?" Colette asked, turning to me.

"Yep, that's it," I answered.

"So what was the boat ride like?" She asked.

"Huh?" I responded, confused.

"When you came to this continent, didn't you ride a boat?" Colette asked.

"Oh! No, I took the land route. Taking a boat would have been easier and quicker though," I replied.

"Oh, that means we have another way incase there aren't any boats," Colette noted.

"I'm pretty sure we'll find a boat here. It's a fishing port after all," I responded.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Colette agreed.

A little while after that, everyone started to talk quietly about the Sword Dancer that attacked Sammy. They didn't want me to hear but when your developing angel hearing, it's hard not to. After they talked about it some, I couldn't stand it and walked ahead of them.

While I was passing them I mutter a bit loudly, "I'm pretty sure that thing came from Niflheim."

They thought I had said something else but I was sure Kratos knew exactly what I said. They looked a bit ashamed to have been talking about it while I was in ear shot.

So it wasn't until noon that we got to Izoold. We decided to split into groups to get things done. Raine, Genis and Colette went shopping and Kratos, Lloyd and I went to go find a boat. They didn't stick me with shopping again because they thought I knew the most on where to get a boat. I hate shopping, my mom has a hard time making me go to the store. I may be a girl, but I'm not normal.

Anyways, I led them to the port where, in the game, we were suppose to meet Max. When we got there, Max was being pestered by Lyla.

"What's the matter with you?! You're going to refuse my request? He's returned to his hometown of Luin!" Lyla yelled.

"Hey Sarah, aren't you from Luin, too?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"It's not like that. There are giant monsters at sea now. It's dangerous and I care about you too much to let you come aboard. That's all," Max informed.

"Fine. Then you go deliver the letter for me," Lyla insisted.

"No! Why should I have to act as a go-between for my rival in love!" Max argued.

Lyla looked over at us and looked like she got an idea.

"Oh… please. Stop whining! Fine!" Lyla shouted. "You there. Excuse me."

"Us?" Lloyd asked.

"Do you see anyone else here?" She sassed. "I'd like you to deliver this letter for me to Aifread in Luin."

We walked forward so she wouldn't have to shout.

"If you deliver it, I'll have Max take you on his boat," Lyla explained.

"You can't be serious!" Max shouted, looking at Lyla.

"Okay! Just leave it with Sarah, she's also from Luin! So it'll get to Aifread," Lloyd volunteered.

"D…don't get me involved in this!" I stammered.

"Then it's settled. All right, Max?" Lyla asked, sweetly.

"I…I'm not going to do it," Max protested.

"You're kidding me! Are you saying it's alright if my letter doesn't make it to Aifread?" Lyla shouted.

"L…Lyla! No, I mean, it's not… I don't mean that…" Max stuttered.

"Then, what do you mean?! If you keep making a fuss about this, I'll just do it on my own!" Lyla yelled.

"Okay, okay. I'll go, I'll go. Dammit…" Max gave in.

"You should've just said that from the start," Lyla commented.

"Do I not get a say in this?" I asked.

Lyla walked over to me and said, "Please deliver it. I'm a girl in love, you should know what it's like."

"Actually, I've never been in love. But I'll do it," I sighed.

"Thank you! Then, it's in your hands now. Make sure it get to him," Lyla instructed, giving me the letter.

She then walked away quickly.

"She's really pushy…" Lloyd commented.

We then turned back to Max. He held his head in his hand.

"…Let me know when your ready to leave," He said.

"Let's go get the others," Lloyd suggested.

"Next time, don't volunteer me for anything," I said, in a threatening tone.

"S-sorry," Lloyd replied.

I sighed and shook my head, "Great, now I've got to deal with this."

"It shouldn't be too hard. You live in Luin and all," Lloyd reassured.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied and walked ahead to find the others.

We found the other waiting at the inn.

"We got a boat," Lloyd informed.

"That's great!" Colette cheered.

"When do we leave?" Raine asked.

"Whenever we're ready," Lloyd answered.

"Then it would probably be best to leave now. We've got all our supplies," Raine suggested.

Everyone agreed and got ready to go back to Max.

"Hold on, I'm gonna tell Sammy to go back to Luin," I said.

"Can you get Noishe to go with her since neither of them will be able to ride the boat?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure," I replied and ran off to tell Sammy.

When I got there, Sammy and Noishe perked up.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry to tell you this but we're going on a boat. You guys won't be able to ride. So I want you two to head for Luin. It's the town over a lake near a tall tower, got it?" I explained.

Translation: "Of course. I'll meet you at Luin with Noishe when you get there."

Sammy and Noishe then ran off in the opposite direction of Izoold.

I walked back to the others and we went to go talk to Max.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Okay, then let's set sail… Don't' blame me if we run into any monsters," Max warned.

Lloyd went up to the front, excited.

"Now we can finally go to the next seal," Lloyd said.

"Yeah!" Colette agreed.

Raine looked down and held his head, "I was afraid this journey would force me on a boat sooner of later…"

Raine sat down while everyone else stood. Max pulled up the sail and we were off.

"We're at sea! We're at sea!" Genis cheered, jumping up and down.

"Settle down, this thing is tiny. Do you want to fall out?" Lloyd questioned.

"Gee, I'm sorry my ship is too "tiny" for you!" Max shot back.

"…I'm gonna fall!" Colette shouted.

I ran over to try and catch her before she fell, but I ended falling with her. We both resurface and looked at the boat. Lloyd and Kratos were holding out their hands to help us. Colette grabbed Lloyd's hand and I took Kratos'. We both got back on board soaking wet.

"I'm sorry!" Colette said immediately.

"Don't worry about, I'm okay," I reassured.

'_Either Gnome really hates me or he's having fun with this.'_

"I didn't mean for you to fall in, I'm sorry," Colette repeated.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Water isn't going to do any damage to me," I told her.

Max told us that there were extra towels in the mini cabin. So Lloyd went in and grabbed two for Colette and I. I took off my vest, belts and gloves so that I could dry off faster.

After that little incident nothing else happened. Genis kept Colette away from the edges of the boat so she wouldn't fall off again. I sat with Lloyd and talked.

"So Sammy and Noishe will be in Luin when we get there?" Lloyd asked.

"That's right. Sammy will make sure they get there, so don't worry," I reassured.

"All right," Lloyd replied.

We continued to talk about stuff until we finally got to Palmacosta.

"We're here," Max called.

We all got off the boat and faced Max.

"Thanks, Max. What are you going to do now?" Lloyd asked.

"I'll request escort from a Palmacosta warship or something… Well, take care," Max answered.

"Sorry for making you take us all the way out here. Be careful on your way back," Lloyd replied.

"You, too," Max said.

Lloyd turned to us and said, "Okay, let's go look for clues about the next seal."

"Do you have any suggestions, Sarah?" Raine asked

"Best thing to do would be to talk to Governor-General Dorr. I heard he has a book that'll tell us where the seals are," I answered.

"Really?" Lloyd asked.

"From what I've heard, yes," I replied.

"Wow, it's really an advantage to have you with us. It must be amazing to be a traveler," Genis put in.

"Hehe, being a traveler gives you a lot of advantages in knowledge and strength," I informed.

"Well, let's see this Governor-General," Raine said and started walking.

We followed her, walking past all the shops because we had stocked up in Izoold. I was wondering whether or not to let the first meeting with the imposters happen. I was a little late to decide because Colette had already bumped into the girl. The Palma Potion crashed to the ground.

"…There she goes again," Genis sighed.

"Owww! What did you do that for?!" The fake chosen shouted.

Colette got up and looked at the girl who was also getting up, " Oh, I'm sorry."

"Ah! The Palma Potion that we just received!" The fake cried.

"Hey lady, that was a very valuable potion! How are you planning on making up for it?!" The fake Lloyd shouted.

"I'll buy a replacement potion right away," Colette replied.

"…Replacement potion?! Do you seriously think that's going to appease my anger?!" He yelled back.

"Oh, come on, now you just sound like an idiot," Lloyd insulted.

These guys were really starting to tick me off. I was death glaring them. I decided not to say anything because Lloyd would take care of the come backs.

"What-did-you-say?! Do you know who we are?!" The fake shouted.

"And I should care because?" Lloyd shot back.

"Why you little…" the fake idiot started.

"Stop. I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. Don't start any unnecessary trouble," the mage cut in.

"I agree… Let's just have them replace the potion," The fake chosen said.

"Bah, you got off lucky this time, kid. Hurry up and go buy that potion," the idiot huffed.

"There's no need to bother, Colette!" Lloyd informed, facing her.

Colette turned to Lloyd and said, "No, I ran into them so I have to pay for it…"

"…Fine, all right," Lloyd sighed.

So we left to go buy the potion. We walked into the item shop first. The Desians were there and Chocolat was refusing to sell them anything. None of us intervened with the argument that was going on. When the Desians decided to leave one of them shoved me aside.

"Hey!" I complained.

"You shouldn't stand in other people's way, kid," The Desian responded.

"What did you say?!" I asked, slightly loud.

"You heard me, kid," The Desian replied, getting ready to fight.

The other Desian looked over at us and put a hand on the first Desians shoulder.

"Wait…it's _her_. Do you really want to find out what'll happen when _he _finds out you messed with her?" The second Desian informed.

"…You're right, let's go. You're lucky, kid," The first Desian said and walked away with his comrade.

I stood there dumbfounded and confused. I had no idea what they were talking about.

"What were they talking about?" Lloyd asked.

"I have no idea… That was just weird," I answered.

"Maybe they thought you were somebody else?" Genis suggested.

"That's probably it," I replied, shaking my head of the event that just happened.

After that, Chocolat left for work and Cocoa apologized for the recent event. I was still lost in thought about what had happened. Colette bought the Palma Potion and we left the item shop. We gave the Palma Potion back to the fakes and left to the town square. There, we saw Governor-General Dorr talking to a little boy. After they left two towns people told us about the Governor-General.

Lloyd spotted the huge steam ship and asked if we could go see it first. Raine decided to agree and we went over to the ship. I knew we were suppose to meet Sheena here. Colette commented on how big with was and Lloyd tries to hide his amazement about it. I had been on bigger ships so I wasn't impressed.

We soon saw Sheena looking at the boat. She commented about it being ancient and stem-powered. A crew mate yelled at her for the insult and then he others noticed her there. She looked over, stopping in mid sentence. She then warned us that next time we'd meet, she'd kill us. She disappeared and Lloyd commented on what she said.

Next, we went to the church and talked to the pastor. I was a bit amazed by the looks of the church. I had only been in a church once, and that was when my Grandma. I was only around three then. My parents had both gone to church a lot when they were kids but they didn't take us. I never got the chance to ask.

Anyways, after that we went to go see the Governor-General but the guards stopped us. They said he was in a meeting and would be able to talk to us tomorrow. They said the meeting was about the training for the militia.

"…Maybe I should train some, too…" Lloyd commented.

"I could probably use some as well," I added.

Kratos turned to face us and said, "If you are serious, I will train you both. Well?"

"Sure, sounds good," I replied.

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed.

"Very well," Kratos said.

He took Lloyd and I outside the city. We stopped in a field and got ready to train. I unsheathed my daggers as Lloyd unsheathed his swords. We got into our fighting stances to show Kratos.

"…How's that?!" Lloyd asked.

"You're wide open, both of you," Kratos commented.

He was right, I was wide open. I was taught how to keep a closed stance but that was empty handed, not with weapons.

"What?! How?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Fighting with two swords deviates from the way in which swords were originally intended to be used. The difficulty increases your vulnerability. The same goes for you Sarah, even though your's are short," Kratos replied.

"That's weird. If one sword has the power of 100, then two makes it 200, right?" Lloyd asked.

I face-palmed and shook my head.

"…Are you telling me that's the reason you chose to fight with two sword?" Kratos asked, skeptical of his intelligence.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied.

There was a small silence in which Kratos and I looked at him with pity for his intelligence.

"Wh…What?! Why do you two look at me with pity?!" Lloyd shouted.

"…I'm sorry," Kratos said.

"Lloyd…" I shook my head.

"W-well, why do you fight with two daggers?!" Lloyd asked.

"Because I depend on speed and two daggers help me. Plus, I've only been properly taught to fight hand-to-hand, so two close range weapons work best for me," I answered.

"Oh…" Lloyd trailed, embarrassed.

Oh man, I really felt bad for Kratos then. His son was an idiot and he saw it first hand. He probably felt really embarrassed about that. I mean, seriously, poor guy.

After that embarrassing training session we went back to the city. We met up with Raine and the others at the inn. We were going to stay at the inn for the night. So, Genis made dinner, we discussed what we'd do the next day, then went to bed.

In the middle of the night I was woken up by a startling noise. I quickly sat up in bed and saw a figure leave through the window. I looked over to Colette and saw that she was still asleep. I looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except one thing. There, sitting on the night stand, was a little blue sphere object. It had a red, green, and yellow phoenix that was outlined in gold and gold outlines in the shapes of clouds. At the sight of it, it made my eyes widen. The last time I had checked, that sphere was suppose to on Earth. I picked it up and held it in my hands. My brother had given me that when I was 12 and now it was here.

'_No way… How can it be here? Maybe… are you here too? Was that… you just now? Kuro… are you really here?'_

I gripped the little sphere then slipped on my boots. I decided to take a walk and get some fresh air. I silently walked out of the inn to the bridge that led to the main square. I leaned against the railing and held the sphere carefully. I examined it and confirmed that it was mine. It was precious to me, one of the things I cherished most.

Originally there had been two, the one that I had and the one that Kuro had. His had golden kanji on it also his gave off the sound of a bell when it was shaken. Mine gave off a noise that sounded like it had rocks in it. I had liked to think that they connected us. I had always kept it near by. But I thought that it had been left on Earth. This sphere gave me a reason to believe that Kuro was there as well.

"Was that… really you?" I whispered.

I heard foot steps coming towards me from my right. The direction of the inn. I look over and see Lloyd.

"Lloyd? What are you doing out here so late?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same… I heard one of the doors open at the inn. I wanted to see who it was," Lloyd answered.

"Oh… I see. I'm out here because I need to clear my head," I responded.

Lloyd walked over and leaned against the railing next to me. He looked out at the ocean for a moment.

"Is it because of what those Desians said?" He asked.

"…Yeah, also because of something else," I answered.

"Something else?"

I held out my hand with the sphere in it to him. He looked at it for a moment then picked it up.

"My brother gave me that… but I left it at home. I was woken up by a noise, I saw someone slip out the window when I looked around. I found that on the nightstand next to my bed… I think… my brother might be close by," I explained.

"But… why would he leave? From what I've heard from you, he would've stayed?" Lloyd questioned.

I closed my eyes and felt the ocean breeze, "That's what I wanna know."

Lloyd handed the sphere back to me and I held it tightly in my hand.

"Lloyd… I figured out why I couldn't feel hot or cold in the Triet," I informed.

"What? Why couldn't you feel?" Lloyd asked.

"It's because of my exsphere. I don't know why but it prevented me from feeling hot or cold. I don't have it on right now, so I can feel the ocean breeze… Before you say anything, I can't get rid of it. I'm too weak with out it. If I get rid of it and continue with this journey… I will probably die. Either because I'm too weak to defend myself, or because of my weak body. If I fight too long, it'll become difficult for me to breath, and I think you can figure out the rest," I explained.

"Oh…"

There was a small silence between us. I looked up at the sky and admired the stars.

"The stars are beautiful, don't you think?" I asked.

Lloyd looked up and said, "Yeah, they are."

Just then, a shooting start went by.

"Wow, did you see that?" I asked, amazed.

"Yeah, are you gonna make a wish?" Lloyd questioned, grinning.

I thought about it for a moment then nodded, "Yeah, I don't care if it's childish."

I closed my eyes and smiled.

'_I wish… I could see my brother if he's here.'_

I opened my eyes and looked over at Lloyd.

"Did you wish for something?" I wondered.

"Yep, but I never expected you to be the kind of person to make a wish on a shooting star," Lloyd commented.

"I may not seem like it but I am childish. I mean, you're only a kid once, might as well enjoy it while it lasts, right?" I responded.

"Hehe, yeah," Lloyd agreed.

I then yawned and felt really sleepy.

"We should probably go back to the inn before somebody notices we're gone," Lloyd suggested.

"Everyone's asleep, nobody's going to notice, but I am sleepy so it'd probably be best," I replied.

We walked back to the inn and said good night to each other. I was able to fall asleep easily, with the sphere gripped in my hand.

This journey was going to be long and hard, but I had the support of my friends, and I had a feeling… that my brother was there… watching over me.

* * *

**Me: So that's it.**

**Genis: Not ver eventful.**

**Me: I know, but I did put in a funny training session scene.**

**Genis: So your brother's there now?**

**Me: Yep, I just can't leave my brother out, he's too important. **

**Genis: Are you planning on havin him appear for again soon?**

**Me: I'm not answering that. Anyways, thanks for reading people, please review!**


	12. I'm too Sleepy to Think of a Good Title

**Me: I'm sorry my update is late! I would have had it done yesterday but a went to a concert with my friends.**

**Genis: Its only been six days, some people don't update for a month.**

**Me: But still...**

**Genis: Oh come on, get over it!**

**Me: Fine.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that is not originally in the game.**

* * *

You know, studying from the beginning probably would've helped. I was in the class room with everyone else… studying. I have never studied, I never needed to, but now I needed to.

I was skimming through a bunch of books, mostly history. I was _not _about to fail a test. If I did, it would be the first test I had ever failed. Anyways, I had about ten books surrounding me, all on different subjects. I was mostly just worried about history though.

"Wow, that's a lot of books," Lloyd commented.

"I haven't been in school since I was 13 and lately I've been slacking in my studies. You should probably start studying too," I responded.

"Fine…" He groaned and left.

I continued my last minute studying. I kept thinking that the test would be the hardest I had ever taken. I only had the knowledge of an eighth grader with some ninth grade knowledge. No, I did not make a mistake, I am thirteen with the knowledge of an advanced eighth grader. It's annoying to have that knowledge because then everyone comes to me for help. The only reason I was like that was because everyone on Earth is always expecting something great out of me. I hate to disappoint people so I try to be perfect for them. But, no matter how much I try it's never enough.

Anyways, when I turned the page to the book I was reading I found a note.

'_A note? What's this doing here?'_

I took it out of the book and opened it. My eyes widened at the handwriting. My brother had wrote it, there was no mistaking his handwriting. I looked through the note and it was basically an outline of Sylverant's history. At the end of the note is read:

_Good luck, little sis. I hope this helps, I don't want you beating yourself up over a failed test._

I smiled and started reading over the outline.

'_Seriously, how does he do that?'_

Well, I knew for sure that he was there. He was also looking out for me. But, the most important question then was: Where is he?

So, after everyone had finished studying we went to the test room. I blocked out all the talking to continue running over all the information I had read. When I got the test I became really nervous. But, I took it anyways, hoping that the outline Kuro had given me would help.

After the test was over I kept wondering how badly I had failed. The dean came back in with the tests in hand. I was really nervous and fidgeting a lot then.

"I will announce the results. First, last place is… Lloyd Irving with 25," The dean said.

"Whoa 25," Lloyd responded

Colette turned to Lloyd, "That's your best yet, Lloyd! Congratulations!"

I sighed and shook my head. The sigh was for both relief and pity.

'_That's like… 6.25 percent… I think.'_

"The rest follow in order: Colette Brunel: 210," The dean was interrupted by Lloyd.

'_So far so good. Hers is about… 52.5 percent.'_

"Sarah: 350," The dean announce.

'_That would mean I got… an 87.5 percent. Awesome! Thank you Kuro, I didn't fail!'_

"Kratos Aurion: 380."

'_I'm not even going to bother, he obviously got some wrong.'_

"Raine Sage: 400."

"Not like we expect anything but perfection from the Professor!" Lloyd commented.

"Now, I shall announce the scores of Genis and Mighty."

Everyone got silent to hear the scores.

"Mighty Washington: 398."

'_Dammit! I just remembered the I was suppose to go to Washington D.C. this summer. Now I'll have to wait longer to go because I'm in another world.'_

"Genis Sage: 400."

"I did it!" Genis cheered.

"That's not…possible," Mighty gasped.

"Take that! Genis is amazing!" Lloyd shouted.

Mighty turned to Genis, "… I lost… I'm sorry I made fun of you."

Genis turned down the acceptance to the academy to continue the journey with us. Everyone headed to the front and Lloyd came up to me.

"Hey, I thought you said you hadn't been in school since you were 13," Lloyd reminded.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I haven't been studying since then. I'm just surprised I didn't fail," I replied.

"Oh… Why didn't the dean say your last name?" Lloyd asked.

'_He noticed? Damn, I didn't think he would.'_

"Probably because I didn't put it down," I answered.

"Why didn't you put it down?"

"I have my reasons," I responded.

I just ignored the rest of Lloyd's questions about my last name. We all headed to the Governor-General to ask about the Book of Regeneration. I was wondering about the future events and what I could do to help.

Governor-General Dorr glanced up at us as we entered the building. He smiled and stood up to greet us.

"Greeting, travelers! We welcome travelers, as per the teachings of Martel. May the blessing of Martel be upon those who journey," Dorr greeted.

I glanced over at Kilia who I caught glaring at me. I quickly turned my attention away from her.

'_Looks like the real Kilia is already dead. But, why glare at me?'_

"Ah, thanks. Actually, we're looking for something called the "Booklet of Regeneration." We heard that it's here," Lloyd said.

"What the?… It's the Book of Regeneration, dummy!" Genis commented.

'_Dummy? He really needs to expand his name-calling vocabulary.'_

Lloyd turned to Genis, then back, "I…I knew that. Yeah, what he said."

"The Book of Regeneration? Yes, that's our family treasure. But, what of it?" Dorr asked.

"We want you to lend it to us," Lloyd answered.

"What an insolent request…" Neil insulted.

"I'm sorry, that was rude. We are aiding the Chosen on her journey of world regeneration. For the sake of the future of our world we wish to learn the path followed by Spiritua," Raine explained.

Neil's eyes widened slightly, "… Governor-General Dorr."

Dorr hardened his gaze, "Yes. The Chosen was here just yesterday! How dare you defile that name! These despicable criminals must be arrested and turned over to the church at once!"

The guards cornered us and we all turned around to face them. There were six guards blocking us. Colette stumbled back and accidentally released her wings. I helped Colette back up.

"Wow! Father, did you see?! She has wings! She's like an angel! They're beautiful!" Kilia chirped.

'_Wow, that's some good acting.'_

"W…wait! Everyone, lower your weapons! This person before us is undoubtedly the Chosen of Mana!" Neil warned.

The guards lowered their weapons. Colette put her wings away and Lloyd and I turned to face the Governor-General.

"There is no mistaking the angel wings that are on your back!" Neil realized.

The guards dispersed back to their original positions and the others turned to face Dorr.

"Please forgive our insolence, Chosen one," Neil apologized.

Colette turned to Neil, "Ah, um, please, it's okay. Um, um…it's all right, really. Everyone tells me I'm not very Chosen-like at all."

"But, this means…The Chosen we gave the Book of Regeneration to was an imposter?!"

"…Wait a minute. You said something about the chosen coming here already," Lloyd commented.

"You handed over the Book of Regeneration?" Kratos asked, slightly anger hinted in his voice along with annoyance.

"Yesterday, the Chosen of Mana came and asked us to give her the Book of Regeneration," Dorr began.

"We had received information that the Chosen's group was headed this way. So we naturally thought that they were them…" Neil finished, embarrassed by the mistake.

"Are you stupid or something?! Now what are we suppose to do?!" Genis yelled.

"I'm terribly sorry…" Neil replied, upset at himself.

"I can't believe this! Do you use your eyes at all or are they just there for decoration? You humans are-" Genis then got smacked by Raine. "Ow!"

'_Ouch.'_

"Genis, that's enough!" Raine scolded.

"You don't happen to remember the contents of that whatever-it's-called book, do you?" Lloyd asked, stupidly.

"I'm afraid not… It is, after all, written in the language of the angels, so only members of the church can read it," Dorr admitted.

"I guess we don't have any choice but to search for the seals ourselves…" Lloyd sighed.

"Well then, let us go," Kratos replied.

As we walked out I stopped and turned around to face Dorr, Neil, and Kilia.

"Um, I have a questioned before I go," I said.

The others stopped and looked at me.

"Yes, what would that be?" Dorr inquired.

"You wouldn't happen to have seen a tall, skinny, kinda lanky, guy with black hair and brown eyes, have you?" I asked.

"…Now that you mention it… Yes, I've seen this person. He came here a few days ago and was looking for someone. You match the description he gave us. He said his name Kuro," Neil answered.

My expression brightened at this, "Did he say where he was going?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm sorry," Neil said.

I sighed, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure I'll find him soon."

We then left the building and returned to the inn to rest before heading out. We were in the lobby sitting around and talking.

"May I ask who this Kuro person is?" Raine inquired.

I looked over at her and sighed, "Kuro's my brother."

"I see," Raine left it at that.

"Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure you'll find him soon," Colette cheerfully responded.

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, he was here a few days ago. So I should run into him sooner or later."

"So where do we head next?" Genis asked.

"Hakonesia Peak. Remember those guys Colette bumped into? They said something about Governor-General Dorr's family treasure and that they were going to sell it to an old man at Hakonesia. They were the imposters," I explained.

"Wow! That's amazing, Sarah! You remembered all that?" Colette chirped.

"It's hard to forget idiots like them," I replied.

"Well then, let's get going," Kratos commented, standing up.

Everyone agreed and we soon left. While we were walking I began to write in my journals again.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd asked.

I looked up from my journal at him. He was walking backwards to face me. That reminded me of something that happened on Earth. I was walking with my friends and Angel, oh, that's ironic, anyways, Angel was walking backwards and he walked into a parked car. Brittany and I laughed but didn't stop because we knew he'd be okay.

"Um, writing," I answered.

"I mean, what are you writing about?" He rephrased.

"The journey. I'm keeping a record of the events that are happening," I replied.

"Oh, why?" He asked.

"Because, it keeps me busy."

"That all?"

"Yep," I continued writing.

"My, that journal you're writing will probably become a historic document someday," Rain put in.

"Yeah, probably…" I responded, thinking about it.

"When this journey is over you should give it to the Governor-General or the Palmacosta Academy," Raine informed.

"That sounds like a good idea," I replied.

'_I think I'll give it to Sybak or maybe the lab in Meltokio or… there are too many places to leave this journal.'_

The walk to Hakonesia Peak was going to be long, but I didn't mind, I liked walking. I had finished writing in my journals and put them away. Raine had decided that we needed to take a break and everyone else agreed. Since we were taking a break, that meant Lloyd and I would have a training session with Kratos. We all set our bags down and Colette, Genis, and Raine sat down. Lloyd and I followed Kratos away from them to train.

Nothing interesting happened during the training session. We set off a little after training. Lloyd, Colette, and Genis talked while we walked. Raine read a book, Kratos was, well, Kratos and I was deep in thought. We reached Hakonesia Peak not long after. Meeting the old man was not something I wanted to do. But I didn't really have much of a choice. I couldn't think of an excuse.

"If you're looking for road passes, it's 100,000,000 Gald per person," Koton informed.

"Wha?! What kind of price is that?! That's robbery!" Lloyd shouted.

"Silence boy! I'll have you know I hate men!" Koton spat.

"That means even those on pilgrimages with the Church of Martel can't make it past here. Sarah, how did you get through here?" Raine asked.

"I didn't, I took an alternate path. But it's not something a group our size can get through," I replied.

Koton faced Raine and I, "Oh, my, you two are quite the beauties! If you're on a pilgrimage, you should join the Asgard ruin tour at the Palmacosta travel agency."

I glared at the old man but didn't say anything.

"Hey! You're in cahoots with the travel agency!" Genis pointed out.

"Oh, shut up! If you don't have any money then get out of here!" The old man shouted.

Colette noticed the book and walked over to it, "Hmm? That's a very old scripture…"

"Oh, my beautiful maiden! You have a good eye! This here is something I purchased from the Chosen of Mana. It's a rare scripture record that contains the Legend of Spiritua!" The old man explained, "I've been wanting to get my hands on this for ages! I'd just about given up on Dorr ever letting go of it. It was very fortunate that the Chosen herself was willing to part with it!"

"Let us have that! At least just let us look at it for a bit," Lloyd said.

"You've got to be kidding! Why should I show it to you people?!" He shouted back.

"Oh, come one! Colette is the Cho-" He was cut off by Raine smacking him.

"Stop. We'll be the ones treated as imposters," Raine muttered to him.

"The Cho…?" Koton pressed.

"The Chosen of Mana's devoted follower. She wishes to view articles that the Chosen has possessed. Colette is a faithful believer and is versed in the language of the angels," Raine lied.

"Ah, yes, that's right. I've studied it since I was a child," Colette informed, backing Raine up.

"Well, if it's that important to you, the maiden, beauty, and lady can have a look at it. More than anything, I want the Spiritua Statue that is displayed in the House of Salvation. If you bring that, I'll consider showing you the book," The annoying, avaricious old man replied.

"You're so stingy! Like it costs you anything to just let us look at it," Genis insulted, annoyed with the old man.

"Shaddup! Get the heck outta here if you don't have any money and don't have the statue!" Koton yelled back.

"Gladly," I retorted and left.

The others followed after me. I looked around and saw a bunch of people outside.

"What's going on?" I asked.

One of the bystanders turned to me, "Uh, you don't know?"

Another one turned, "You all would be better off waiting here for a while. No matter what you should stay away from Palmacosta."

"Did something happen in Palmacosta?" Lloyd asked.

"It seems the Desians are headed for Palmacosta," The tour guide informed.

Lloyd face the guide, "What?!"

"Plus, they say the leader of the near by human ranch, Magnius, is with them," The man added.

"Magnius…" Lloyd tailed.

"I'm going to wait here until things cool down. You should hold off on going anywhere for a while, too," The man suggested.

Lloyd and I turned to the others.

"Let's go check it out," Lloyd said.

"Lloyd are you crazy?!" Genis shouted.

"I agree with Lloyd. Besides, we can't get through here and we still don't know where the seal is. There's nothing else we can do right now. We should make sure the people of Palmacosta are alright," I explained.

"…Well, I guess you're right," Genis gave in.

"I agree with Lloyd and Sarah, too," Colette added.

Raine looked at our determined faces and sighed, "I suppose we'll go."

"Alright then, let's get moving," Kratos started walking.

We started back for Palmacosta.

"What's that avaricious old geezer's problem?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Agreed, that was the rudest man I had ever met," I added.

Then Raine went into her rant about Lloyd using the word avaricious. I just watched as Raine insulted Lloyd without meaning to. I smirked at the sight and hid my laughter.

"That just reminded me of something," I muttered slightly.

"Reminded you of what?" Genis asked.

"Just this time when I was with my friends and something similar to this happened," I replied.

"Which side were you on?" He questioned.

"The side that didn't get their intelligence insulted," I answered.

Genis laughed and said, "I'd expect that from you."

I faked a smile but didn't say anything. "Expect," I really didn't like that word. People on Earth were always expecting something good out of me. No matter how hard I tried, they always expected more and something better. I was too nice to want to let them down. That's how I got to be top of my class and good at a lot of things, it was all to try and impress and please everyone. But, all it really did was take away my chance to be like other kids and have more than just two friends. Those two friends betrayed my trust too. I have a horrible social status at school because I always focused on trying to live up to everyone's expectations. Seriously, I hate that word.

Anyways, enough of my ranting. We traveled all the way back to Palmacosta. We all looked around but didn't see any one.

"Where is everyone?" Lloyd asked.

"Probably all at the town square. The Desians are probably there as well," I replied and headed towards the town square.

"How do you know that?" Raine asked, suspicious.

"Trust me, I've had a lot of run ins with Desians," I answered and continued walking.

We got to the town square and saw Cocoa with a rope around her neck. The towns people were all in the town square, probably being forced to watch. I set my hand on my weapon, ready for the soon to come fight. We got there right on time. We saw the very beginning of the scene play out. Lloyd asked about the city militia and a bystander explained to him about the training exercises. Genis insulted the Desians then Chocolat showed up and ran up to the gallows, to her mom.

"Stop right there, woman!" commanded one of the Desians.

"If you interfere, we'll make you suffer in ways that will have you begging for death!" a Desian mage warned.

"You think Governor-General Dorr will let you get away with this?!" Chocolat spat.

"Dorr! Hahahaha! Don't get your hopes up, woman!" Magnius laughed.

Magnius was just about to give the signal to hang Cocoa but a little boy, whom I've got to compliment, started throwing rocks at him.

"You…disgusting little vermin!" Magnius shouted and jumped down.

He approached the little boy but Lloyd threw a demon fang at him.

"Stop right there!" Lloyd shouted.

I took that as my opportunity to bring out my weapon and unsheathe it. The little kid ran away and four Desians surround the injured Magnius.

"Lloyd, stop! Do you want to turn this city into the next Iselia?" Raine asked.

"It's not the same! This city doesn't have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians! How can we go on a quest to regenerate the world is we can't even save the people standing right in front of us?!" Lloyd argued.

I ran up to back Lloyd up. Colette walked up next.

"Lloyd's right! I won't just stand here and let this happen!" Colette agreed.

"Plus, this city can defend itself! It has a militia," I added.

"…You! You're wanted criminal 0074... Lloyd Irving!" One of the Desians shouted.

"Well, now! So, you're that boy with the exsphere! Hahahaha! This is perfect! After I take that exsphere from you, they'll make me the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals! Get them!" Magnius ordered.

One of the Desian mages with the weird hats started to cast Fireball. Seriously, what is up with those hats? Who designed them? Also, what's up with that weird dance thing they do when the release the spell? Anyways, back to the situation.

Genis ran in front of us a blocked the fireball attack. He then walked to the back smugly, calling the Desians, "Amateurs."

"Dammit! You worthless idiots! Enough of this! I'll take care of this woman first!" Magnius shouted, annoyed and gave the signal to hand Cocoa.

"No!" Colette shouted and ran forward, hurling her chakram at the rope, freeing Cocoa.

"What the?!" Magnius shouted, watching the chakram soar back to its owner.

Kratos ran up and unsheathed his sword, cutting Magnius. He re-sheathed it and stood with his arms crossed.

"…Let us respect the wishes of the Chosen," Kratos said, nonchalantly.

A couple of bystanders heard and started talking about Colette.

"Do you all realize what you're doing? If you defy the Desians, this city may be attacked just like Iselia," Raine informed.

"That's right! And I know full well what I'm doing! I won't repeat the same mistake again. I'll destroy them all, the entire ranch!" Lloyd shouted.

'_Wow… Does he really think he'd be able to do that?… Well, he will but he doesn't know that.'_

"Lloyd, that's insanity," Raine informed.

"They're only after Colette and me anyway," Lloyd replied, "And besides, we have the Chosen on our side! The savior who will regenerate the world! Right, Colette?"

That gave Colette a lot of courage. She stepped forward and faced us, "…Yup! I'm going to fight for everyone's sake…"

That's when the Pastor of the Church spoke up, calling to Colette.

"I give up. You're all hopeless…" Raine sighed, "But, I'll help, since I'd be worries about you otherwise."

Lloyd faced Raine and smiled, "Professor Sage! Thanks!"

"Damned little… enough of this crap!" Magnius shouted, "I'm leaving them to you. Get rid of them!"

Magnius along with one of the mages left.

"How dare you lay a hand on Lord Magnius! You're all dead!" A Desian soldier shouted.

The Desians charged at us, ready to kill. Lloyd rushed in and started attacking the mage of the three Desians that were still left. I charged for a different Desian after slipping on my Cruxis Crystal. Our formation was as usual.

I swung my dagger across the Desian's chest, but he jumped back and dodged. I pursued and attacked again. This time I landed a hit on the Desian's shoulder. The Desian swiped his sword at me but I blocked with both of my daggers. I then kicked the Desian in the gut and pushed the sword away. I jumped back and was about to go back in to strike, but Colette sent an Angel Feathers attack and finished off the Desian for me.

"Thanks, Colette," I shouted.

She smiled and nodded. I looked over and saw that the Desian mage had shot a Fireball my way and it was already too close to dodge.

'_Crap!'_

I brought my arms up, to try and block it the best I could. If I could use techniques, it would have been really helpful then. The Fireball attack hit me head on, burning me badly. But, luckily, I couldn't feel it because of my Cruxis Crystal. I looked up after being hit with the attack and saw that the mage and Desian soldier had been taken down.

Raine rushed over to me and demanded that I let her heal my injuries. Cocoa and Chocolat took us to their house, where Raine continued to heal me. I had slipped off my Cruxis Crystal while they weren't looking. The burns hurt horribly. I almost collapsed to my knees from the sudden pain that I felt. Raine had me sit down while she healed my arms and other small burns I had. Cocoa and Chocolat thanked us. The conversation went how it was suppose to because I didn't interject. I was too busy getting healed of my burns. I'm serious, I've been burned a lot but nothing as bad as those burns.

The conversation soon ended and we headed back to the inn to rest. Raine still hadn't fully healed my burns, and I couldn't blame her, I had a lot of really bad burns. We got the rooms at the inn and we each went to our rooms to rest. Raine couldn't completely heal my burns but she did the best she could. So, Colette and I were resting in our room.

"How are you feeling, Sarah?" Colette asked, worried.

"Not too good, but I should be better soon," I winced.

I had gotten burned on my face slightly as well. It was a bit painful to talk. I reached for a roll of bandages to wrap my burns with so it wouldn't get infected in anyway.

"I hope so. Do you need help with that?" Colette questioned.

"Yes, that would be appreciated," I replied.

Colette walked over and took the bandages, wrapping up the burns. When she was done she put the bandages on the table and sat back down.

"Is that better?" Colette wondered.

"Much… Now I don't have to worry about the burns getting infected," I responded.

I looked over at my gloves. They were burned and had a bunch of holes in them.

"There go my gloves… Darn it," I muttered.

"Maybe we can go buy another pair later," Colette suggested.

"Yeah, that'd probably be best. I don't want to get blisters from holding my weapon so much. I'll go tomorrow, you don't have to come with me though," I replied.

"Okay, I think I'll stay with the others then," Colette responded.

We soon went to sleep.

Again, I woke up in the middle of the night. It had become a habit for me. I put on my boots and slipped outside, hoping not to wake anybody. I went to the bridge again and leaned against the railing. I looked at the stars and sighed.

'_Okay, I know Kuro is here, but what the hell is he doing? Shouldn't he have joined us or something? Argh! I can never figure out what he's up to!'_

"Dammit, Kuro! What the hell are you doing here anyways?! You're suppose to be back home, on Earth!" I muttered.

I heard footsteps come up behind me. I turned around only to be met by a sword at my neck. My eyes widened slightly and I looked up to Kratos.

"Um, is the sword really necessary?" I nervously asked.

I tried to back up but only ran into the railing.

'_Crap.'_

"Mind explaining to me why you know so much or what this Earth is?" Kratos death glared at me.

"W-What do you mean?" I stuttered.

"You know too much and I heard you say something about your home being on Earth. Now, tell me, what were you talking about?" His glare intensifying.

'_Crap, what am I suppose to do? I should've kept my thoughts inside my head! Oh man, unless I want to die I'll have to tell him something. Dammit, I didn't think I would have to spill this early on.'_

"Well?" Kratos asked, getting impatient.

I sighed, deciding to tell him. "I'm… not from Sylverant… or Tethe'alla. I'm from a planet called Earth… And I know you're with Cruxis… and a lot of other things."

I heard Kratos move the sword and I closed my eyes and turned away, afraid that he had decided to kill me. But, then I heard him sheath his sword. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"What else do you know?" He questioned.

"What's going to happen in the future of this journey… a bit of your past… your relationship with Lloyd," I answered.

I probably shouldn't have said that because the second I did, he had his sword to my neck again. I was really scared at that point.

"I-I'm sorry… I won't say anything… It would mess up the time line anyways," I replied, my voice slightly shaking.

"Time line?" He inquired.

"I don't want to do anything that would disrupt the time line… Since I know what's going to happen," I answered.

"Why are you here?" He asked, lowering his sword.

"I-I made a deal with something, I don't exactly know what, but it sent me here. I basically have to ensure the time line is kept intact in order to keep my end of the deal," I explained.

"You come from a planet called Earth and you are here to ensure the time line is kept intact by using your knowledge of what is to come. Now, tell me, why should I believe you?" He questioned.

"Umm… Because you traveled with Yuan, Mithos, and Martel, who is not a goddess but Mithos' sister, to stop the Kharlan War," I said, a bit shaky.

There was a pause before he spoke up, "I believe you, but I had heard Earth was just a myth."

"That's… a bit strange… The reason I know what's going to happen… is because Sylverant and Tethe'alla are suppose to be fiction," I was still shaky because Kratos still had his sword pointed at me.

He sheathed his sword, "Where does your knowledge extend to?"

"To the end of this journey then two years later to another event. That's all I can tell you without disrupting the time line," I replied.

"I see… How do you have a Cruxis Crystal?"

"That, I honestly don't know. A lot of things changed when I came here. Sammy got a lot bigger, my clothes changed, a few years were taken off my life," I listed, but covered my mouth.

"A few years were taken off your life?" He inquired.

"… Umm… Yeah, I'm really 13 but when I got here I was turned 17," I explained.

"How are you going to get back to your home?" He asked.

"I can't get home until this journey is over. I'm not exactly sure how though," I partially lied about the last part.

"Alright then… You should probably get back to the inn before someone find that you're gone," Kratos suggested.

I nodded my head and started going back when I realized something. I stopped and turned around to face Kratos.

"Are you going to tell Yggdrasil?" I asked.

"No, I don't want to put you in anymore danger than you are already in. It's best to keep this a secret," He replied.

"Alright, thank you," I said and then headed back to the inn.

I silently walked in and back to mine and Colette's room. I slipped off my boots and laid down. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and sat up. I looked over and saw something laying on the nightstand. I picked it up and read the note attached to it.

_Use this on your burns, it'll really help. I'll find something you can use to protect yourself from attacks like those so don't worry about getting hurt like that again. Try and stay safe little sis. I hope to see you soon,_

_- Kuro_

I smiled and used the medicine on my burns after removing the bandages.

'_So you really are watching over me, Kuro. Thanks.'_

* * *

**Me: Well, Kratos finally got his answers. **

**Genis: Kuro seems to help you out a lot now.**

**Me: Yes, I want to give him a bigger part in this story then others that I have written in the past.**

**Genis: You're clingy to your brother.**

**Me: So? My brothers important to me.**

**Genis: Makes me wonder if you'd end up like Mithos if your brother was killed.**

**Me: Shut up! There's no way I'd end up like him! And there's no way my brother would be killed!**

**Genis: Right...**

**Me: Whatever... Thanks for reading everyone! Please review!**


	13. Dealing with the Eastern Ranch and Dorr

**Me: Sorry it took me so long to update. I had a little writers block with the fight scenes.**

**Genis: This chapter's pretty eventful.**

**Me: I hope so. By the way, I just finished a drawing and would appreciate it if you'd go and check it out.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that is not originally in the game.**

* * *

The eastern ranch, the second human ranch I would go to since I had gotten to Sylverant. It hadn't been that bad the first time because I didn't actually go inside. I remember all the horrible things that went on inside a ranch. I sent shivers down my spine. The closer I got to the ranch the more frequent the shivers became. I was really not looking forward to going in there. I just told myself that we would stop it to give myself confidence. Didn't work out so well.

Anyways, after we left Palmacosta we had gone to the House of Salvation and was informed by a Palmacosta militia soldier. Colette wanted to pray at the alter in the House of Salvation for good luck before we left. That's when we ran into Sheena again. She was also praying at the alter, for Tethe'alla. After that we headed straight for the ranch. At first on our way there I was wondering about how Sheena did the "disappear in a puff of smoke" trick. I had always wanted to learn how to do that. Then my thoughts went to the ranch.

"Chosen one! Please, wait!" Neil called, coming out of hiding.

Everyone stopped and turned to him.

"Neil! We heard Chocolat's been kidnapped!" Lloyd informed.

"…Yes, I wish to speak with you regarding that. Please, come this way…" Neil sighed.

"…It doesn't sound like you have very good news for us," Raine pointed out.

Neil led us to a hiding spot and explained to us the situation. I decided to try and stay out of the entire conversation. Kratos continued to glance at me ever since he learned of my secret. I was guessing he was expecting me help move things along faster.

"Now, then, we have two courses we can take. The first one is to go on ahead and infiltrate the ranch and rescue Chocolat and the other captives. Now that thing have come to this, is we leave the ranch, it will surly result in a second Iselia. Our second option is to confirm Dorr's true motives. If he has planned a trap, then he knows the layout of the ranch well… Let's let him talk for a bit," Raine explained.

"What are you going to do to Dorr?" Neil asked, worried.

"…You'd better not ask that. Raine's punishment is painful," Genis informed before getting smacked behind the head by Raine.

"Thinking logically, dealing with Dorr first is the correct choice," Kratos explained.

"What do you think, Lloyd?" Colette questioned, turning to him.

"Let's go attack! Who cares about their trap?! We're going to save Chocolat, now!" Lloyd determinedly answered.

"You got it! Count me in!" Genis agreed.

"Me, too. I'm sure Chocolat is scared and lonely by herself," Colette replied.

"I don't want to agree but it looks like I don't have a choice…" Raine sighed.

"…If that is your wish. Let's go," Kratos responded.

Everyone had turned their attention to me.

"I have no argument," I informed, shrugging.

So we headed towards the human ranch. Before we got too far, Neil stopped us again and asked to come along. Which we agreed to. We worked our way inside and through the ranch. Why the hell did they make human ranches like giant puzzles? I'll never understand that. At least some of the puzzles that were in the game weren't there, so it wasn't as annoying as it would be. Eventually, we found the prisoners.

"It's the captives…" Genis noted.

"Please, let's save them," Colette begged.

Raine nodded, "Yes, when you consider what'll happen, we can't just leave them here like this."

"Should we split into two groups, then?" Lloyd asked.

"No, please leave this to me. Members of the Palmacosta army will be coming soon. I'll remain here, join up with them, then free these people. Please, take care of Chocolat," Neil convinced.

"Okay, we'll leave it to you, then," Lloyd replied.

We opened the cell doors and freed the prisoners. I looked over the prisoners and walked over to Lloyd.

"Chocolat's not here," Lloyd commented.

"Yeah, I know, but don't worry, we'll find her. It's sad, most of these captives have dull, lifeless eyes. I hope the life and hope is returned after they get out of here," I dejectedly said, looking at them sadly.

"Me, too. It's horrible what they do here," Lloyd agreed.

Then al little boy walked up to us. We looked down at him.

"Hmm? What's wrong? You're not going to run away?" Lloyd asked.

"Thank you for saving me. Here, take this," the little boy responded, holding out a card to Lloyd and I.

Lloyd took the card and examined it, "What's this?"

"I picked it up over there," The little boy pointed in the direction he picked it up from. "I saw a Desian treating that card as if it was really important."

"Thanks," Lloyd said.

I smiled, "Thank you. I'm sure this will help us."

The little boy giggled and ran off.

"It's good to see that not all have lost hope," I sighed, slightly happy at the fact.

"Yeah," Lloyd replied.

Neil took the captives and we headed back to the portal. We made our way through the confusing portal puzzle thing and found Chocolat being harassed by the Desians. I slipped on my Cruxis Crystal, knowing that a fight would soon take place.

"Look!" Genis pointed out.

"Stop! Let her go!" Lloyd shouted in a commanding tone.

The Desians turned to face us and attacked. Colette took out her wings and flew over to Chocolat to guard her. I stayed in the back and guarded Raine and Genis while they prepared spells. Kratos and Lloyd took the front lines. I didn't get to do much since Kratos and Lloyd mostly took care of them.

After the battle, we went up to Chocolat, who looked surprised.

"You came to rescue me?" She questioned.

"Yup! Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" Colette asked, worried.

"Yes, I'm fine. Chosen one, everybody, thank you all so much," Chocolat looked really appreciative.

"Ah, don't mention it…" Lloyd modestly replied.

"There is no time to be celebrating. We still need to take care of Magnius," Kratos responded.

Lloyd looked irritated by Kratos' words.

"Assistant Governor-General Neil is taking the people imprisoned ere to safety. Our job is to secure the control room and ensure a safe escape," Raine explained.

"Dorr finally mobilized his plans, didn't he?" Chocolat asked, excited.

"Um…uh. Yeah," Lloyd stammered.

"I'm not sure if it's in the control room or not, but in the back is a platform that leads to a room filled with sparkling lights and other magical looking things. I'll show you the way," Chocolat insisted.

"Hmm, it may be a bit dangerous but we'd appreciate your help," Raine replied.

"Of course. Follow me!" Chocolat exclaimed.

She led us the a warp panel and stood there.

"I think… if you get on this round platform you can go to the floor you want," Chocolat explained.

We nodded and stepped onto the platform. Lloyd and I went first, then Genis and Colette followed with Chocolat, Raine and Kratos right behind.

I examined the room, looking at all the magitechnology. It was really quiet until Lloyd spoke up.

"So this is the control room…" Lloyd trailed.

"So the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin have finally arrived."

"For…saken?" Kratos questioned.

Magnius came down on his floating chair thing.

"You got it mixed up Magnius, you're the one that's forsaken. Your time here is up," Lloyd shot back.

That's when Desians warped into the room and surrounded us. I knew there was going to be a fight soon so I reached for my weapon.

"We're surrounded!…" Colette pointed out.

"Hahaha! Just like a bunch of stupid vermin! I know your every move. And I know about those inferior being trying to escape, too," Magnius snorted.

He brought up the projectors. They showed Neil and the prisoners getting trapped inside a room.

"How did Neil get in there?" Colette asked, confused.

I wanted to explained but I knew Kratos and Raine would, so I kept my mouth shut.

"That's a projector. A product of magitechnology," Kratos explained.

"It's a device that displays images of people and things that are far away. We were displayed on here as well," Raine added.

The last of the doors closed, locking the prisoners in.

"Oh no! They're trapped!" Genis noted.

"Hahaha! A wasted effort! Everything you've done is meaningless," Magnius said, full of himself.

"How so?! We can rescue everyone after we take care of you!" Lloyd shot back.

"Big words from someone whose futile actions caused the disaster in Iselia!" Magnius brought up.

Lloyd looked down to the ground in shame. I put a hand on his shoulder, to try and comfort him.

"Th…that was…" Lloyd trailed.

"I know, how about I recreate that incident using the vermin on the projector? Watch, I'll unleash their Exspheres and turn them into monsters!" Magnius sadistically shouted.

"No! Stop!" Lloyd yelled.

"Come on now, I'll be more than happy to turn them into monsters, just like that old lady you killed… Just liked Marble! Hahahaha!" Magnius laughed.

"Marble? You don't mean…" Chocolat trailed.

"Oh, but I do, my little Chocolat. Dear old granny Marble was sent to the Iselia ranch, where she was killed by Lloyd. I heard she met a pitiful end," Magnius twisted the truth.

I had a look of disgust on my face as I looked at Magnius. I turned my attention to Lloyd and soften my look. I still had my hand on his shoulder. I looked over to Chocolat. Genis also turned to face her.

"Wait, it wasn't like that! Lloyd tried to save her! But the Desians turned her into a monster and-" Genis was cut off.

"Lloyd killed her," Magnius finished with the truth twisted.

"No…" Chocolat whispered, backing away.

I really wanted to stop her but I held myself back. I knew she still held a role to play later on. And I was there to basically make sure the timeline went accordingly. I couldn't do anything to change it. Everything basically happened for a reason in the game and I wasn't suppose to change it. I wasn't suppose to even be there.

Everyone turned to face Chocolat. She backed away and the Desians grabbed her.

"Chocolat!" Colette called.

"Dammit! Let her go!" Lloyd demanded.

"Leave me alone! I refuse to be save by Grandma's murderer! I'd rather die!" Chocolat childishly cried.

I had always thought that she was being like a little kid when she said that.

"You mustn't say things like that! Don't throw your life away!" Colette desperately tried to convince her otherwise.

"…Dorr will save me. Leave me alone!" Chocolat responded childishly.

"Hahahaha! Right, Dorr, huh. Well, whatever… Take her away!" Magnius ordered.

The two Desians surrounding her took her away. They left on the warp panel.

"Stop!" Lloyd shouted, wanting to go after them.

The four Desians that were left attacked us. The frontline melee attackers split up into our usual formation. It was more difficult then the other fight that we had fought. The archers kept stopping casting and I had to continuously watch out for spells the Desian mage cast.

I was faced with an archer so it wasn't hard. I ran up and tried a head on attack. The Desian dodged and tried to hit me with his bow but I blocked the attack. I kicked the archer in the stomach then knocked him out by hitting him in the back of the neck with the back of the handle. My fight was short but it didn't really matter to me.

I looked over and saw that everyone else had just about finished their battles. I knew we would face Magnius soon. I was anxious to hurry up and get to the next fight to end it. I did not like being in that ranch. I was hoping that I wouldn't get in the way when we fought Magnius. To be truly honest, I was scared. I had a knack for over thinking things and I was thinking of the worst possibility happening. Over thinking things is the reason why a lot of people saw me as a pessimist.

"Dammit! How could you idiots allow these inferior being to defeat you?!" Magnius shouted. He got up and faced us, "Fine, I'll take care of you myself! I'll put an end to the Chosen, right along with you fools who can't let go of your elven blood!"

I decided not to get in the way, so I took on one of the Desians that were with Magnius. I tried to strike at the Desian's shoulder but he blocked and countered. He sliced my arm but it wasn't deep. I then rushed back in and stabbed the Desian's shoulder. I pulled my weapon out and kicked the Desian in the chest. He tried to attack back but the kick had slowed him down, so I was able to dodge. The Desian stumbled, still trying to regain balance after the kick, I stepped behind him and stabbed my weapon into his back. The Desian collapsed onto the ground.

"Flame Lance!" Magnius shouted.

I looked over and saw that the attack was aimed for me. I struck a defensive position and waited of the attack.

"Guardian!"

I glanced up to see that Lloyd had blocked the attack with Guardian. I sighed, relieved that I wouldn't have to be hit by an attack like that.

"Thanks, Lloyd," I said.

"No problem," He replied and went back to the battle.

I saw that only Magnius was left. I circled around to the back of him to attack. I've learned it's easier to attack from the back. When I got there, I cut a deep gash across while Lloyd attack at the same time from the front. Genis used the spell Icicle and finished him off. I walked back over to stand with the others.

"How could a superior half-elf like me lose?" Magnius gasped, holding is injuries.

"It's because you are a fool Magnius. Cruxis has accepted Colette as the chosen," Kratos replied.

"…What?!" Magnius questioned.

"That's right! Colette is going to regenerate the world! We're not going to lose to someone like you!" Lloyd remarked.

"So…you're…Then… I was deceived…" Magnius collapsed.

Raine ran over to the controls and activated the projector. It showed Chocolat being taken away from the ranch by two Desians. Raine pressed some more buttons to allow the people to escape.

"This should allow the people imprisoned in the ranch to escape," Raine informed.

"What about the Exsphere implanted on them? With out Key Crest, it's only a matter of time before they go out of control," Kratos responded.

"Can't we just take the Exspheres off of them?" Genis asked.

"It's dangerous to attempt to remove an Exsphere lacking a Key Crest. I would imagine only a dwarf could handle it," Kratos replied.

"Then we can ask Dirk to do it," Colette put in.

"Yeah. Let's contact my dad," Lloyd agreed.

"…We can work out the details later. Right now I'm going to program this place to self-destruct. Ready?" Raine asked.

Lloyd and Genis stepped back.

"Are you serious?!" Lloyd asked.

"Raine, if you do that-" Genis was cut off.

"At the very least, we'll deal a major blow to the Desian stranglehold over this region. If we're going to strike them, it should be thorough and decisive," Raine explained.

"Raine…" Genis trailed.

"Remember, Genis, we're not like them. We're different," Raine replied.

Raine turned back to the controls and activated the self-destruct option. Why do they make self-destruct options anyways? I don't think I'll ever figure it out. Anyways, the alarm went off and Raine turned back to face us.

"I've set the self-destruct timer for ten minutes. Let's hurry and evacuate," Raine said.

So we ran off and out of the ranch. We met back up with Neil outside.

"What happened to the captives?" Lloyd asked.

"We've moved them all to Palmacosta," Neil informed.

"Then, Neil, please get out of here, too! Hurry!" Genis urged.

Neil stood there confused while everyone except Colette and I ran away.

"What?" he questioned.

"It's going to explode!" Colette said, running off.

"Raine set off the self-destruct option," I explained and ran after Colette.

We soon got a good distance away from the ranch and heard it explode. We continued on to Palmacosta and everyone started to discuss the problem of Exspheres. While we were walking, Lloyd came up to me.

"Something wrong?" I wondered.

"Nah, it's just, you dropped this during the fight," Lloyd replied, handing me the little sphere my brother had left me.

"Oh! Thank you, I don't know what I would've done if I had lost it," I said, taking it and holding close.

We soon arrived in Palmacosta and headed to the government building.

"There's no one here," Lloyd stated.

"I think I hear voices from below," Colette informed and turned to the door leading to the basement.

Everyone else faced the same way.

"…Really? I don't here anything," Lloyd replied.

"There's no one here. We should head down to the basement," Kratos responded.

"Yeah," Lloyd agreed.

I nodded in agreement.

We walked down into the basement and heard Dorr conversation with the Desian. Once the Desian left we came out.

"What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost," Lloyd remarked.

I sighed, I never really thought it was clichéd line until I actually heard it.

"Um, Lloyd, that's a really clichéd line," Genis put in.

"Shut up, Genis!" Lloyd replied, embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?! Neil! Where's Neil?!" Dorr questioned.

Neil stepped forward, "Governor-General… I can't believe you've been working together with the Desians."

"So that's it… You betrayed me!" Dorr accused.

"Governor-General! The Chosen destroyed the ranch for us. Please, stop this foolishness…" Neil begged.

"What?… What have you done?! You…destroyed Clara's hopes of living!" Dorr shouted.

"I don't know who that is, but we saved everyone at the ranch. Except for Chocolat," Lloyd informed.

"…Saved?! Th… That's funny! All right, then! Just try saving Clara!" Dorr tore down the curtain that covered the cage, revealing Clara. "Save my wife!"

I looked at Clara and my eyes widened. I covered my mouth and felt the color drain from my face. Clara, it must have been so painful for her. I felt like crying at seeing her condition but held it back. Kratos had a horrified look, this, no doubt, reminded him of Anna.

"Ah! Wh… What's that monster?" Genis gasped, horrified.

"N…No! Don't call her a monster!" I cried.

"She's crying… She's crying out in pain… Please, listen to Sarah… You mustn't call her a monster," Colette gasped.

"You don't mean…" Lloyd trailed.

"That's right. This is what became of my wife, Clara!" Dorr spat.

"So that's why you told everyone she passed away," Raine concluded.

"My father, the previous Governor-General, was a fool. Because of his defiant stance against the Desians they killed him, then planted the demon seed in my wife as a warning. If I cooperate with them, they will give me the medicine to save her," Dorr explained.

"But…that means you're betraying the people of this city!" Genis pointed out.

"Who cares! It was the only way to save Clara! But it's all been for nothing… I've lost the only chance I had to save her. All because of you!" Dorr blamed.

"Stop talking like you're the only victim! I'm sorry about your wife. But think of all those people who believed in you only to be sent off to the ranch! Any of them may have wound up just like your wife!" Lloyd responded.

"Silence boy! Stop acting like your justice is absolute!" Dorr retorted.

"Where do you get off? Don't even start spewing the word "justice"! I hate that word! If you wanted to save your wife, you should have resigned your position as Governor-General and searched for a cure, or help, or whatever! You're a worthless jerk, who couldn't give up his social status even for his own wife!" Lloyd shot back.

I've always agreed with Lloyd when he said that.

"Lloyd, please stop! Not everyone's strong enough to stand up against the Desians. Please, stop this!…" Colette begged.

Lloyd turned to her, "Colette…"

"I'll find it for you! If there's a medicine that can save your wife, I promise to find it! So please…" Colette offered.

"…There's no use. There's no way to remove a demon seed once it has sprouted," Kilia explained.

That's when I saw her pull out a knife. She stabbed Dorr in the back and he collapsed.

"…Kilia… what are you-" Dorr tried to ask.

"What are you doing?!" Lloyd shouted.

"How could you do that to your own father?!" Genis questioned, horrified.

"That's a laugh," She snorted and transformed back to her true form. "I am a servant of Pronyma, leader of the Five Grand Cardinals who rule over the Desians. I was merely assigned to observe the new human cultivation technique, developed by Magnius. There's no way that a superior half-elf such as I could have a fool of a father like this."

"A…fool of a father?…" Colette questioned.

"Just look at him! He didn't even notice that his own daughter was dead… because he was too busy chasing after medicine that doesn't exist… in order to save his monster wife!" Kilia laughed.

"The only monster here is you!" I snapped.

That earned me everyone's shocked look. I had never shouted something like that. I pulled out my weapon, ready to fight the little devil. She attacked first, by throwing something at me. I don't know what it was because I was too focused on the fight. I dodged and charged in.

The other's soon joined in. I was going head to head with the little devil. I was pissed off at her and that thing just hated me for some reason. We clashed again and again, barely doing any damage to each other. Luckily, I had friends to help me, while she had nothing but herself. We did deal some major blows to each other at one point, but Raine healed me and I went straight back into battle. Back on Earth, I had noticed that when I was angry my strength increased, the same thing happened there. I was too ticked off to stop and consider my injuries, I didn't hesitate. I dealt the finishing blow to her. We were all out of breath by the end of the battle.

"This can't be… Fine…then. I'll set this monster free and let it kill you!" She crawled over to the cage and unlocked it.

Clara staggered out of the cage.

"No, not again!… Do I have to kill another innocent victim?" Lloyd said.

She staggered over to Lloyd, ready to strike.

"Stop!" Colette and I shouted.

Clara stopped and staggered out through the exit the Desian had left through.

"W… wait!" Genis called.

Colette and Genis ran over to the exit but stopped.

"…Is Kilia really dead?" Dorr asked.

We all turned our attention to him.

"Kilia is…" Genis started.

"Don't worry. It seems your real daughter is fine," Lloyd smiled, sadly.

"Lloyd…" Genis said.

"I see. You… your name's Lloyd?" Dorr asked.

"Yeah…" Lloyd replied.

"Professor Sage, please, help him!" Colette begged.

Raine tried to heal him but couldn't. She stood back up and turned away, shaking her head.

"Please…please save Chocolat. And…if you somehow find a way to save my wife… please, help her return to her human form. When my daughter comes back, I don't want her to be all alone…" Dorr requested.

"Okay, I promise," Lloyd agreed.

"Thank you…" Dorr handed Lloyd a pass for Hakonesia Peak.

"Governor-General Dorr," Neil collapsed to his knees.

Later, we went back up to the main room.

"…I'm sorry for everything that's happened. Thank you for all your help," Neil said, still a bit shaken from the Governor-General's death.

"What are you going to do now?" Raine asked.

"I think the first step is to get together with those who hold power in the city and reorganize the government," Neil replied.

"Good luck. As for us, we're going to find Chocolat no matter what," Lloyd informed.

"That's right, because we promised," Genis added.

"Indeed," Kratos agreed.

"Thank you," Neil responded.

"I guess it's time to go, then," Colette said.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded.

"Please, be careful. And please, come visit the city again! We'll be waiting for you," Neil smiled.

Raine murmured something to herself. I knew it was something about her healing arts.

"Professor Sage? Did you say something?" Colette asked.

"No… it's nothing," Raine replied.

We left and went to the inn to rest. I laid down on the bed exhausted.

"I didn't realize how tired I was until now," I sighed.

"Me too," Colette added.

I pulled out the little sphere my brother had left me and looked at it.

"What's that?" Colette asked.

"A sphere thing my brother gave me when I was twelve. There was originally two but my brother has the other one," I explained.

"Oh, it must be special, then," Colette replied.

"Very… I almost lost it during the fight at the ranch. Luckily, Lloyd saw it and gave it back to me," I responded.

"I hope you see your brother soon," Colette said.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"We should probably go to sleep. It's late," Colette suggested.

"Yeah, you're right. Good night," I replied.

We went to sleep after that. As usual, I woke up in the middle of the night. I slipped on my boots and went outside to the bridge. I leaned against the railing and sighed. I pulled out the sphere and stared at it. I heard foot steps and looked to my left.

"Do you have a habit of coming out here in the middle of the night?" Lloyd questioned.

"Yes, I do," I answered, straight forward.

Lloyd walked up and leaned against the railing next to me.

"Thinking about your brother?" Lloyd asked, spotting the sphere.

"Yep… I really miss him…" I replied.

There was a pause before Lloyd spoke up.

"Everyone was surprised that you shouted back at the half-elf right before the battle," Lloyd stated.

"Sorry… I guess I let my anger get the better of me," I responded.

"Don't apologize, it just surprised us because you've always been the kind of person to be calm and quiet right before a battle," Lloyd explained.

"Calm and quiet…" I muttered.

Those words reminded me of how I was at school. I was always calm and quiet, usually emotionless. I was the kind of person that was just there, that not many cared for.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"N-no, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," I assured.

"I don't believe you. What's wrong?" Lloyd questioned.

"…It's just… back when I was going to school… I never really did "fit in" so I didn't talk much. I was always calm and quiet, as some would put it. Others would put it as being emotionless," I explained.

"You being emotionless? That's hard to imagine," Lloyd said, surprised.

"Hey, sometimes the people you know use to be the exact opposite of what they are," I informed.

"I guess you're right… but it's still hard to believe," Lloyd replied.

"We should probably get back to the inn," I suggested.

"Okay," Lloyd nodded.

We went back to the inn and into our separate rooms. I laid down and was able to fall asleep easily.

* * *

**Me: So, there it is.**

**Genis: Take a look at her new drawing.**

**Me: There's a link on my profile.**

**Genis: It's actually pretty good.**

**Me: Bye everyone, thanks for reading! I'd appreciate it if you'd review and checked out my drawing.**


	14. The Seal of Water

**Me: I'm so sorry that I didn't update sooner! The internet was out and I couldn't get on at all. I feel horrible for making you all wait so long.**

**Genis: Just calm down. You have a good excuse.**

**Me: I have a stupid excuse. Sorry.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that is not originally in the game. Sorry.**

**Genis: You're hanging around Colette too much.**

* * *

The next morning I woke up and saw that Colette wasn't in the room. I shrugged it off and got ready. I knew that I had probably slept a bit late so it didn't faze me to see my roommate gone. It didn't take me long to get ready, I was usually quick about things like that since I didn't really care about my looks, excluding my hair. My hair was important because my mom had always liked it, which was the reason I kept it long.

I greeted everyone as I sat down.

'_I must be late or something, considering Lloyd's already up. Why must I have to sleep so much?'_

"So what do we do now?" Genis asked.

"We go to the next seal, of course!" Lloyd replied.

"But we don't know where it is," Genis reminded.

"Oh, yeah…" Lloyd responded.

"We're going to the House of Salvation. Remember, the old man at Hakonesia Peak said that he'd let us have a look at the Book of Regeneration if we got the Spiritua Statue that's at the House of Salvation," I stated.

"Wow! That's amazing, Sarah! You remember all that!" Colette chirped.

"It's not that hard to remember," I modestly said.

'_Especially since this use to be one of my favorite games before I got stuck here. If I hadn't played the game I probably wouldn't have said that. My memory's actually really horrible.'_

"Well, it seems we're heading to the House of Salvation then," Raine confirmed.

"We should stock up on supplies before heading out," I suggested.

"That's a good idea. Would you mind going?" Raine asked.

"Not at all," I faked.

I _hate_ shopping! But, I was late getting up and I didn't want to be rude, so I decided to stuck it up and go.

"Good, let me write down a list to take with you," Raine began writing on a note pad.

Afterwards she handed it to me and I got up.

"Come back here after you're done and don't take to long," Raine said.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon," I replied, taking the list and leaving.

"She seems pretty cheerful today," I heard Genis state as I left.

I went out to the market place and looked at the list. Apple gels, orange gels, stuff like that. So I started working on getting the quickly. I hated shopping and that was never going to change. That's the reason why I was so quick with stuff like that.

I think the reason why I hate shopping is because of my mom. She would always take me shopping when I was younger and I always got tired. When I went with my mom to shop she would keep me there with her forever, looking through clothes she thought would look cute on me and other stuff. I would always end up becoming sore with standing and walking around. That's probably also the reason why I became a tomboy.

Anyways, enough of my rambling. While I was walking I bumped into someone.

"Oh, sorry," I said, quickly.

"Nah, it's okay. I wasn't paying attention," By the voice I was able to tell it was a girl.

I looked over at her and my eyes widened slightly.

'_Holy crap! It's Marta from Dawn of The New World!'_

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"N-no, it's nothing. You just reminded me of one of my old friends," I lied.

"Oh, okay. My name's Marta, it's nice to meet you," She greeted.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Sarah," I introduced.

"Well, I've gotta go, bye!" She waved and ran off.

"Bye," I replied.

'_Wow… I never expected that to happen. Although, it was kinda cool.'_

After that I continued the shopping and got everything. I returned to the inn with everything in hand.

"I'm back," I called, walking up to everyone.

"You don't take long," Raine noted.

"I said I'd be back soon," I reminded.

So, we got ready and headed off to the House of Salvation. On the way, I was writing in my journals again. It had become a habit while walking. I knew I wouldn't have enough time get all the events that had happened down but I tried to get as much down as I could.

Something caught my eye while writing. I turned my head and stopped to look at it. My eyes widened slightly. What caught my eye was an Indian Paintbrush flower. I hadn't seen one in years and I was surprised to see it on Sylverant.

"Something wrong?" Lloyd asked.

I snapped out of my daze and turned to him.

"No, it's nothing," I replied and continued walking.

I glanced at the flower once more before continuing my writing.

We made it to the House of Salvation without stopping. We ran into a few monsters along the way, but nothing big. I mostly just ignored the conversation because I was still too preoccupied with writing.

"That's it! We'll have Genis seal it with magic," Lloyd declared.

The sudden loudness startled me and I almost dropped my book. I was just about to reach up to adjust my glasses when I remember that I didn't wear them any more. Adjusting and pushing up my glasses had become a habit on Earth. I stopped and put my journal away to listen to the rest of conversation.

After that, we headed for the Thoda Island docks. Again, nothing really interesting happen. I just continued writing in my journal. It didn't takes us long to get to Thoda Island. We walked out to the wash tubs after paying for the trip.

"It's a… wash tub?" Lloyd questioned.

"Yep, it's a washtub," Genis nodded.

"Hmm, washtubs," Kratos observed.

"Wow! This looks like it'll be fun!" Colette chirped.

I examined the washtubs and said, "I really don't want to get in that."

"I…I'm going to wait here. Go on ahead without me," Raine suggested.

Everyone looked back at her.

"What's wrong, Professor sage?" Lloyd asked.

"N…nothing. I'm not getting in that thing," Raine stated.

Colette smiled, "It looks fun! Come on, let's get in."

"Yeah, Raine!" Genis grabbed Raine's hand.

That's when one of the most well known events happened, Raine shrieked. Everyone's face was of pure shock, even Kratos'. We all stared at her and there was a moment of silence.

'_I might've known that was gonna happen but still… wow…'_

"…Ahh?" Lloyd inquired, "Professor Sage… are you… afraid of water or something?"

"I…I was just starting to say, Ahh, this should be fun!" Raine lied.

She walked over to the wash tub and got in.

"Um…Sure," Lloyd murmured.

"…Heh," Kratos muttered.

"I still don't like the idea, but whatever," I shrugged.

We all hopped in and set sail…sorta. I tried to stay away from the edges or at least hold onto them.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid of water?" Lloyd asked.

"N… no, if I was, I would have put up more of a fight in getting in… It's just… I barely know how to swim," I blushed, embarrassed.

"You barely know how to swim? But, on the way to Palmacosta you fell in and were fine," He reminded.

"N… no one's ever taught me… And, there weren't any waves then so it was a bit easier," I replied.

"Oh, I see. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine," Lloyd reassured.

"R-right," I said, still embarrassed.

It was ridiculous for me to barely know how to swim because my family had an in-ground swimming pool in the back yard. I mean, seriously, if you own an in-ground swimming pool then shouldn't you know how to swim properly? It's just really embarrassing.

We soon reached Thoda Geyser.

"We've… finally… arrived…" Raine panted.

"That was fun, wasn't it, Lloyd?" Colette inquired.

"Sea water came in and I thought it was going to sink!" Genis exclaimed.

"Here, Professor," Lloyd offered a hand out of the washtub.

"Ah, right. Thank you," Raine took hold of Lloyd's hand and climbed out.

"…That was a rare experience," Kratos muttered.

"I really, don't want to do that again," I shook my head.

We walked over to the geyser. I looked around the area and remember something.

'_Oh crap! I forgot that Noishe was suppose to be here to block Sheena's path. I wonder what'll happen now… This is not good.'_

"Wow!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Lloyd, a geyser is a type of hot spring that periodically erupts with boiling water and water vapor," Genis explained.

"Y… yeah, I knew that!" Lloyd stuttered.

While the rest of us looked at the Geyser, Colette and Kratos talked about the sign.

"There's the statue," I pointed out.

The others looked over to where I was pointing. We then walked over the platform and looked over it.

"All I have to do is stop it with my magic, right?" Genis asked.

"Yeah. While it's stopped, I'll go down there along the rocky parts and get the statue," Lloyd confirmed.

"The ice I can make will…well, it's just an estimate, but I don't think it'll last more than thirty seconds," Genis informed.

"Gotcha," Lloyd replied.

"Are you sure you wanna do this? I could go instead," I offered.

'_And with my luck, I'll be boiled alive.'_

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't want anyone to get hurt," Lloyd smiled.

I wanted to say, "You don't have to be the hero all the time," but I decided not to.

I nodded, "Right, just be careful."

"Lloyd, don't do anything dangerous," Colette said, worried.

"Even my healing arts have their limits," Raine warned.

"You have a bad habit of getting cocky. Be careful," Kratos put in.

Genis then started casting, "Icicle!"

"Don't make any mistakes, okay? Good luck, Lloyd!" Genis said.

"So all I have to do is not mess, right? Leave it to me!" Lloyd assured.

He then jumped down to the first icy platform. Lloyd cautiously continued to jump from one platform to the next. It didn't take him long to retrieve the statue and get back. The entire time I was worrying like crazy and ready to jump down and help if necessary.

"Glad you're okay," I sighed in relief.

"You're amazing, Lloyd! I knew we could count on you!" Colette cheered.

There was a brief pause.

"Okay then, let's go back to that old man," Lloyd suggested.

The others started walking away.

'_Dammit! We need to take care of the seal of water!'_

When I was sure the other's wouldn't notice I walked over to the oracle stone. I was not about to ride in those washtubs more than I needed to.

"Hey guys!" I called.

Everyone stopped and turned to face me.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd asked.

"I found an oracle stone. This must be the seal of water," I explained.

The others walked back over and looked at the stone. I didn't pay attention to the rest of the conversation. When I heard the rocks fall into the water I turned my attention to the entrance. I saw the bridge appear.

'_Looks like the bridge is pure mana or something.'_

I got a bit confused when I didn't see Sheena anywhere.

'_Shouldn't she be here or something? Or-' _

My thoughts were cut off when I saw her. The others were already using the bridge to get to the cave entrance. I followed after them, not wanting to be left behind. When we entered the water temple I looked back to see if Sheena followed us, considering there wasn't anything or anyone to block her path. I didn't see her though. Kratos was also checking.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd asked, noticing that we stopped.

"…It looks like that girl didn't make it inside," Kratos stated.

"What girl?"

"That assassin. The one after the Chosen."

"She followed us?!" Lloyd questioned

"You didn't notice?" Kratos wondered, exasperated.

"I…I was busy thinking and stuff," Lloyd tried to use as an excuse.

"Never let your guard down, ever. Assuming you want to survive."

"Oh, yes, of course, you're _so _perfect. You'd never screw up," Lloyd dragged out the "so."

"Even I make mistakes, I made a terrible one…" Kratos trailed.

"What?"

"…Nothing, I shouldn't have said that. Forgive me," Kratos apologized and walked away.

"Forgive you? What? You don't make any sense sometimes," Lloyd gaped after Kratos' retreating figure.

I stated walking away and turned to Lloyd, "C'mon, we're getting left behind."

The water temple was dark, musty, and humid. I hate the humidity, it usually gives me a headache. While we were walking my head began to hurt. Like I had predicted it hurt badly.

'_Dammit! It freakin' hurts! This is why I try to stay away from places like this.'_

I was lagging behind the others, using a pressure point technique my friend had taught me. The pressure points were suppose to release natural pain killers.

'_Thank you, Mira. At least I don't have to deal with really bad headaches while trying to fight.'_

So, we made it through the temple fairly easy. We did run into a few battles with monsters but they weren't anything big. When we were about to get on the warp panel, I hesitated because I knew that it would be much more humid in there than out here. I was hoping that my headache wouldn't get the best of me while in there. I stepped onto the warp panel after everyone else had gone through.

"This place is all dark and humid. Let's hurry up and get out of here," Lloyd said.

'_Ugh, my head is hurting even worse now.' _

"…We must release the seal first," Kratos reminded.

"I know that," Lloyd replied, irritated.

We all stepped closer to the alter.

"I feel… mana welling up… It's the same as the Seal of Fire," Genis informed.

Everyone immediately pulled out their weapons. Then, the seal guardians appeared. As soon as they appeared, Lloyd charged right in using Tempest. I rushed in next, after slipping on my Cruxis Crystal of course, going after one of the smaller guardians. I slashed diagonally at the guardian, creating a large gash. I continued to hack away at the monster while trying to avoid any attacks. Something that I noticed over the time of our battles, is that I'm an offensive fighter. I'm pretty good with offense, but when it comes to defense it's best not to depend on me. I can slightly make up for my lack of defense with my speed because I can dodge some attacks.

The seal guardian swiped it's hand at me, knocking me back. I landed on my back, skidding slightly. I staggered back up and charged right to the monster again. I dodged the on coming attack by spinning. I used the momentum and sliced the guardian twice, once with each dagger. I then rammed the monster with my shoulder and stabbed it through the chest. The guardian cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. I was panting and looked over to see the status of the other's fights. The other small guardian tore it's attention away from Lloyd and turned to me, seeing as I killed it's friend. It charged…er… floated towards me quickly. I was surprised by it's speed, it was hard to keep up. It swiped at me, hitting my in the stomach and knocking me away. My breath was knocked out of me. I continuously coughed, trying to regain it.

My stomach is my biggest weak spot. That's why I try to protect to most. If I get hit there, it's hard for me to regain normal breathing patterns… not like I had them before. Asthma had always had a hold over me, so my breathing patterns are a bit… unstable. The Cruxis Crystal usually gave me normal breathing pattern, so it didn't get in my way often.

I sat up slowly, trying to keep my coughing down. It was a bad idea though, because I started coughing up blood. I heard footsteps rush over. I looked up and saw Raine kneel beside me. She started to heal me and I turned my attention away from her to see that the battle was just about to come to a close. My coughing started to calm down until it was gone. I held my throat out of habit from past coughing fits.

"Thanks," I whispered.

Right after I said that the last seal guardian fell. I stood up with some help from Raine.

"You really should be a bit more careful," Raine suggested.

"My defense sucks," I stated flatly.

"Don't put yourself down, you'll only get worse if you do," She scolded.

"On the contrary, it's the opposite for me," I replied.

She looked at my skeptical.

"…I'll explain later," I assured.

Colette gave her prayer at the alter. I removed my Cruxis Crystal and slipped it back into one of the pouches. My hand twitched because I would've adjusted my glasses at the point but I didn't have them.

'_I've gotta remember I don't wear glasses anymore. Argh! I'm so use to wearing them. I kinda miss them, too.'_

I looked up to the conversation between Colette and the fake. Right before he left, he glared at me.

'_Seriously, what's with the people in Cruxis glaring at me?! Maybe Kratos really did tell them…Nah, they would've killed me by now if he did, or they might've tried something. Maybe I'll figure it out later…'_

I saw the others start to leave so I followed after them. Leaving the temple was easy but I kept worrying about Sheena. There was nothing to block her from following us, yet we hadn't run into her. I kept my hand on my weapon, a bit paranoid that she's try a surprise attack. We didn't run into her until we were out of the temple.

"Stop!" She commanded.

Everyone stopped and looked at her. She was already in a fighting stance. Colette would collapsed from the Angel Toxicosis and just about all of us were too tired from the battle to fight.

"I won't go easy on you! I will kill the Chosen!" Sheena informed.

I stepped up, deciding to try and stop an on coming fight.

"W-wait! Hold on! W-we can't fight here," I said, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Why not?" She questioned.

"B-Because… um… T-the area is too narrow to fight in. Fighting here wouldn't do any of us any good," I reasoned, biting my lip.

She lowered her stance and looked around the area. After taking in the area she turned her attention back to me.

"Fine… but I'll be back!" She shouted and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_I've got to learn how to do that.'_

"That was close," I sighed.

"Yeah, good thinking, Sarah," Genis replied.

Just then, Colette collapsed. Lloyd rushed to her side.

"Professor Sage, Colette's sick again!" Lloyd informed.

Genis ran over to her as well. I followed right after.

"Oh no! We must let her rest immediately," Raine said.

Kratos walked over, "Time to set up camp, then."

"Yes, but if this is going to happen every time she releases a seal Colette is going to have a difficult journey ahead of her. For the time being, I'm going to call the phenomenon, Angel Toxicosis," Raine explained.

Colette picked up her head.

"Colette, are you okay? Does it hurt?" Genis asked.

"I'm fine, it'll go away soon… I'm sorry for worrying everyone," Colette started to breath heavily.

"Okay, that's enough. You're not allowed to apologize any more, okay?" Lloyd joked.

That line always made me smile. It was one line that I never forgot.

"Hehehe… I'm sorry," Colette replied.

I sighed, no one would be able to stop her apologizing.

Well, we found some unused land near the geyser and set up camp there. Raine came up to me after camp was set up.

"Back at the seal, you said that instead of becoming worse by putting yourself down, you'd become better. Can I have that explanation?" Raine asked.

"Oh, well, the explanation is simple, I like to prove people wrong," I answered.

"Prove people wrong?" She inquired.

"Yeah, even if it means myself. If I tell myself that I'm weak, I'll just get stronger to prove myself wrong," I explained.

"You have an interesting way of thinking," She replied.

"My parents tell me that a lot," I responded, laughing slightly.

Later, just about everyone was asleep. I was gazing up at the moon and listening to the crackle of the fire. It was very soothing. That's when I heard the conversation between Colette and Lloyd begin.

"I know, I'll go to sleep in a little bit. Don't worry."

"But still…" Lloyd tried to argue.

"Kratos and Sarah are still awake, too, see?" Colette pointed out.

"That's because he volunteered to be the night watch and Sarah… wait why are you still up, Sarah?" Lloyd asked.

"Hmm? Oh… well… I'm just star gazing," I answered, not tearing my gaze away from the sky.

"Colette, you need to rest and so do you, Sarah. You took a bit of damage during the fight today," Lloyd suggested.

"I'll go to sleep soon, don't worry," I smiled, turning to them.

"Okay," Colette gave in.

"Okay, good night, you two," Lloyd smiled.

"Good night," I replied and turned my gaze back to the sky.

Lloyd started to walk off after Colette said good night. After a while Colette returned to camp. It wasn't long before I returned as well. I noticed that Raine and Genis slept close to each other. I smiled at the sight.

'_That's so cute. They're lucky, to be able to stay with each other. I wish I could spend more time with Kuro.'_

I found a spot near the fire and fell asleep.

The next day, we headed for Hakonesia Peak. We gave the statue to the old man and Colette read the book. I knew they wouldn't need my help with figuring thing out.

As we walked towards Asgard, I started writing in my journals again. I usually saved my personal journal to be written at night and wrote the record journal while walking.

'_I wonder if this journal will be big enough to log this entire journey. Oh well, I guess I'll find out. I'll probably have to rewrite this so my handwriting is easier to read. I have horrible handwriting while walking.__'_

I sighed, I knew my hand would seriously hurt when I decided to rewrite. I would have to spell check it when I rewrote, too.

* * *

**Me: I'm so sorry it took forever.**

**Genis: Quite apologizing, they get it!**

**Me: Sorry.**

**Genis: I give up. Please review, it'll make her feel better.**

**Me: Oh, by the way, voting's over. The votes went to Lloyd. You can do some last minute voting if you want since I didn't get this chapter out right before the twenty-fifth for a warning. I'll accept the votes. Again, really sorry.**


	15. Asgard

**Me: Hey People! I'm not sure if I'll be updating soon because I've got something to go to on the fifteenth. Plus school is starting soon so things will be a little hectic for me. I'll be running around getting ready and trying to reset my internal clock so I'm not sleepy for school.**

**Genis: Don't you sleep in school anyways?**

**Me: Yeah, but I've gotta make a good first impression or else the teachers will target me and I'll be given a hard time by them. Plus, I'll be taking three high school credit classes and all the advanced classes. I should've gone with the easy classes instead.**

**Genis: Relax, you'll be fine.**

**Me: Easy for you to say! You're a freakin' genius!**

**Genis: I'm not even going to try… She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that is not originally in the game.**

* * *

Asgard had that ancient history feel to it. I was so amazed when I saw it. But I didn't get enough time to sight see because Raine dragged us all to the stage and started her ranting. I had to keep pushing my hair back because the wind was blowing it in my face. It was really getting on my nerves.

'_I am so going to get a hair tie, or at lest a hair clip.'_

I saw Lloyd wondering away from the group. I decided to follow, history bored me and Raine was not helping with her lecture. I caught up to Lloyd.

"Hey, Lloyd," I tried to get his attention.

He jumped slightly and turned to face me, "Oh, hey, Sarah. I would've thought that you'd stay and listen to Raine's lecture."

"History bores me. I was not going to listen to a history lecture," I pointed out.

"C'mon, let's go," Lloyd motioned.

We walked over to the back and saw Linar and Harley.

"Listen, Linar! This is my invention, the "breaker." If we use this bomb, we can easily destroy this confounded dais," Harley explained.

"B…but… Harley… This is a rare and valuable remnant of the Balacruf Dynasty. We can't destroy it…" Linar stammered.

"What are you talking about?! As things stand now, Aisha may be killed!" Harley tapped his foot in annoyance.

Lloyd and I exchanged glances. We stepped out from our hiding place.

"What are you two doing?" Lloyd questioned to get their attention.

They jumped slightly and turned to face us. We started walking and stood in front of them.

"Wha…Who are you?" Harley asked, surprised.

"It's not what you think! We weren't trying to destroy the ruin at all!" Linar tried lying.

"You are a terrible liar," I noted.

Just then I heard Raine run over the dais to us. Let me tell you, she is scary! She looked beyond menacing.

'_Oh man, I feel sorry for these guys.'_

"… What did you just say?!" Raine roared.

We all looked at Raine.

"Professor, these guys said they're planning to destroy this stage," Lloyd explained.

Lloyd and I moved out of the way as Raine jumped down.

"And you call yourselves human beings?!" Raine proceeded to kick them both down.

They both got up and gripped the spot where they had been kicked.

"I am a half-elf," Harley corrected.

Raine walked up to him, "…What has that got to do with anything?"

She then walked over to the stone dais and prepared for a lecture. "You have no idea of the importance of this ruin!" She gestured towards the dais and accidentally hit the destruction switch without notice.

"…Uh-oh," Everyone besides Raine chorused.

"You say you're going to destroy this fabulous ruin?" Raine then proceeded into a rant.

'_Not good, not good, not good!'_

"…Professor…" Lloyd interrupted.

"What? If you have any questions, I'll take them after the lecture," Raine replied.

"The bomb turned on," Lloyd and I stated.

"I said, if you have questions, I'll take them la-" She cut herself off at the realization of the situation.

She faced the bomb and stepped back in surprise.

"…What?" She questioned.

Harley ran up to her and shouted, "Woman! You flipped the switch!"

Raine turned around and kicked Harley in response. "Don't try to put the blame on someone else!"

Lloyd ran up, "That doesn't matter now! Is there a disarm switch?"

Harley picked himself back up, "Of course not!"

Raine kicked him again, "Don't act like you're proud of it!"

'_Ouch.'_

Lloyd looked irritated by them. "I guess I'll have to disarm it myself," He turned to the bomb.

"You can do that?" I asked, surprised.

"Sure, it shouldn't be too hard," Lloyd shrugged.

He started working on disarming the bomb and in no time it was off.

'_Wow, Lloyd's skills are so impressive.'_

"Hey, you're pretty good to be able to stop the uncontrollable "breaker"," Harley stated.

"Don't go around building stuff you can't control," Lloyd irritatingly said.

"Lloyd, that was really impressive. It was like child's play to you or something," I complimented.

"Aw, it was nothing, really," Lloyd rubbed the back of his head blushing slightly.

'_Oops, I should probably watch what I say. It might seriously mess up the story line.'_

"…The ruin seems to be unharmed," Raine examined.

"You there! Trespassing in this area is forbidden!"

Harley and Linar looked alarmed by this. Lloyd looked questioning.

"Oh, no, it's the Mayor!" Linar informed.

"Uh-oh. Run!" Harley ordered.

Linar and Harley then ran off as well.

"Professor! Sarah! This looks like trouble! Let's just get out of here!" Lloyd turned to us.

"But, I haven't had time to study the structure of the…" Raine began.

"Just, come on! Hurry, you two!" Lloyd ran off and I followed after.

We got out without any problem and met back up with the others. We explained to them what happened.

"Who were those two?" Genis asked.

"I wonder why they wanted to destroy the ruin?" Colette added.

"Yes, the ruin! We have to stop them from engaging in such foolish acts like trying to destroy a ruin," Raine responded.

"We should ask the Mayor what this is all about," I suggested.

'_Seriously, listening to conversations I've already heard is boring, but unless I want to tell everyone that I know the future then I must endure and act. I'd probably be able to become an actress when I get back to Earth.'_

Everyone agreed with my suggestion and we walked back up the long flight of stone stairs to engage in a boring conversation with the Mayor. I mostly just hung back and didn't put in anything. So after a series of events I knew all too well, we were finally at the stone dais watching Raine perform the dance. It was actually more than it was displayed in the game. It was graceful and had many more steps and turns. But, it soon ended when the Wind Master appeared.

"I have come for the girl," it roared.

"It's not…No, Professor! That is an evil creature… it's not the guardian of the seal!" Colette warned.

We all jumped onto the stone dais to fight the creature. I had to slip my Cruxis Crystal on before jumping because the raise of it was taller than me. I also had to help Genis climb on. Colette just flew, and Lloyd and Kratos jumped.

While Lloyd, Kratos, and I kept the Wind Master busy with our frontal attacks, Raine, Genis and Colette attacked from afar. We had the Wind Master surrounded and it couldn't decide who to attack. Although when I smirked at noticing this, I let my guard down for a split second and the Wind Master sliced through my shoulder. I stepped back from the fight and clutched my shoulder. It was bleeding profusely and I was barely able to move my arm.

'_Damn my cockiness in the middle of a battle.'_

"First Aid!"

I looked over and Raine, "Thanks!"

I then turned my attention back to the Wind Master and charged back in. I dodged an on coming attack and slashed the monster. Then, Genis finished it off with Eruption. When the Wind Master disappeared it left behind the stone tablet. Raine immediately picked it up and fascination etched it's way onto her face. As everyone was walking towards the edge of the dais to get off, I removed my Cruxis Crystal then caught up to the others. Everyone had already jumped off the dais and I followed, stumbling slightly on the landing.

"Fantastic! You're fantastic, Raine!" Linar complimented.

"Hah, it was hardly a challenging opponent. Now, more importantly…" I stopped listening to her.

'_She's getting cocky. But, I don't think you have to worry about cockiness outside of battle and training… After this it's the Seal of Wind and a fight with Sheena… I wonder how that'll go…'_

"Yeah, that Raine is a half-elf after all. You can count on her wisdom," Harley assured.

'_I spaced that long?'_

"N…no, you're wrong! Raine is…an elf. I'm an elf, too!" Genis stammered

"What? Surely you don't think I'd mistake my own…" Harley stopped.

Genis' face fell and he looked like he would cry. Everyone had their eyes on him.

Harley's eyes widened slightly in realization. He then closed his eyes and smiled, "Ah, actually, I guess I was wrong. It seems you two are pureblooded elves. I must not have been paying careful attention."

Lloyd walked up to Genis and put a hand no his shoulder, "… We should get some rest, too. I'm exhausted."

I wanted to linger back and thank Harley but that might've gotten me in trouble. So, I just followed the others. We spent the night at an inn and like always, I went outside and got some air. I was on the roof of the inn. I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw Kratos standing there.

"What are you doing out here?" He questioned.

"I have a habit of coming out here to look at the night sky. I picked it up from my brother," I replied.

"Have you lost the ability to sleep?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, I try to keep my Cruxis Crystal off as much as possible. It's influence on me is great since Earth doesn't have mana," I answered.

"I see… How does Earth survive without mana?"

"I don't see why Earth would need mana, I don't know why this world needs mana either. But, that's just how everything works, I guess. Some things just can't be explained," I shrugged. Then a question popped into my head, "How much do you know about Earth? You said you had heard about it, but only as a myth."

"I will not tell you much, but I know to the time of the year 2030. You're world's history is bent on war."

"Yeah, I know. But so is this world. When I left, Earth was currently in the year 2009. So, we're even, I'll be living through those years. I won't ask about Earth and you won't ask about the future of these worlds," I responded.

"…It will be hard not to ask."

"No kidding…" I responded.

There was a silence before I decided to break it, "I'm going back inside. See 'ya in the morning."

I got off the roof and went back inside. As I laid down waiting for sleep to overcome me I started to think.

'_I'm getting too attached to this place. I can't get attached! If I do, than it'll only make it that much harder to leave, and I know I have to leave at some point… My life here, is… better than it was on Earth?… Sure, I don't have my family and a lot of other stuff here but… my parents didn't pay much attention to me… but they did care for me a lot… I feel like I belong here more than I did on Earth… I guess I'll… just do what Kuro will do… I hate this… not being able to decide…'_

After having more thoughts about that topic I fell asleep.

The next morning, I waited with Colette, Genis, and Kratos for Lloyd. It wasn't long until he woke up.

"It looks like the Professor hasn't come back yet," Colette noted.

"Are you serious?" Lloyd asked.

"She's conducting research with Linar. Let's go get her," Genis suggested.

"Sounds good," I replied.

"All right," Lloyd agreed.

So we left the inn and went to Linar's to get Raine. On the way there a new thought came to my head.

'_I'm always so quiet during conversations that have to do with the story line… But I don't really have the right to mess things up. I'm only here to ensure that things go how they're suppose to… You know what, screw it! I'm saying what I wanna say. If I wasn't suppose to be here than I wouldn't be here.'_

My thoughts can sometimes change that fast. It's a weird trait that I got from my mom. Luckily, it's only my thoughts so people don't think I'm crazy. They're impulsive thoughts which is probably why my decisions change at the last second sometimes.

When we got there Raine looked like she was getting ready to leave.

"Good timing. I just finished deciphering it," Raine informed.

"The Professor is amazing! She deciphered the complex Balacruf writing in no time at all!" Linar complimented, blushing slightly.

'_How cute. Raine has an admirer.'_

"…Heh, Raine just gained another fan," Genis noted.

"She's quiet the catch, huh?" Lloyd added.

I suppressed a small laugh, seeing as how Raine blushed slightly.

"Uh-huh!" Genis agreed.

Raine turned around and smacked Genis. I patted Genis on the head feeling sorry for him.

"It would appear that the monster was the cause of the calamity that afflicted the ancient Balacruf Empire," Raine explained.

"It seems that the summoner at the time used Sylph, the Summon Spirit of Wind, to seal it away, then built the stone dais to suppress the calamity," Linar continued.

"In preparation for the day when this calamity might reawaken, he left this map in order for people to be able to locate the Summon Spirit of Wind," Raine lectured.

"After a great many years, people eventually confused the calamity with the Summon Spirit of Wind…" Linar finished.

"So now we know where the Summon Spirit of Wind is located?" Genis asked.

"Of course. The location of the Summon Spirit is the location of the next seal," Raine stated.

"Wow! I wonder what the Summon Spirit of Wind is like! I can't wait to see it!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Let's see how long that enthusiasm lasts," I whispered to Genis.

Genis held in a laugh at the comment.

"Now we can finally regenerate the world!" Colette cheered.

"Regenerate the world?… Now that I think about it, what was your purpose for coming to this city? You don't look like ordinary travelers or tourists…" Aisha noted.

"…Well then, if you know our next destination, we should be on our way at once," Kratos suggested, turning to Raine.

"Yes, it's likely that the seal is inside the Balacruf Mausoleum," Raine assured.

"Okay, let's get going," Lloyd smiled.

Aisha looked like she wanted to say something.

"Well, please take care," Colette chirped.

So then we were off. I was again writing down the recent events of what had happened in my journal.

'_Huh… I just realized how big of an impact this journey will be for Sylverant and Tethe'alla, and I'm gonna be part of it… wow…Never thought I'd amount to something so big… Back on Earth, there'd be no way something like this could be done by only a few people… This'll be a long but interesting journey… I say that too often…Er… think… oh, whatever I know what I mean.'_

Yeah, I mentally argue with myself. It's something that I don't think I'll be able to get rid of. I'm not sure which side of the family I get it from though… most likely my mom's.

'_I can't wait until I see Kuro. It'll be so awesome… I wonder… how long will this journey last?…'_

* * *

**Me: Okay, so that's it. I gotta get some sleep.**

**Genis: Why do you spend most of your nights up, writing this story?**

**Me: Because… I don't know… I guess it's because of the readers. I don't want to let them down.**

**Genis: You don't want to let anybody down.**

**Me: It's a fault…sorta… whatever. I'm going to sleep.**

**Genis: Good night.**

**Me: Please review everyone. Reviews get me off my lazy but to actually write. Plus, I like to here from you guys because I don't have a life.**


	16. The Seal of Wind and Nightmares

**Me: Yes! I updated before the fifteenth!**

**Genis: Why are you so excited about that?**

**Me: Because, on the fifteenth I'm going to a convention and that means that most of my time will be put to preparing. So, I wanted to get a chapter out for the readers before I start getting ready for the convention. I won't start working on the next chapter for a couple days. I'm going with my best friend. It'll be so awesome. I'm going to enter the cosplay contest.**

**Genis: Hopefully, you don't end up like Will and Ellie from "Tales of Cosplayers" by Nightfoot.**

**Me: Nah, I probably won't end up like them, because sadly, I am not wearing a Tales of Symphonia cosplay. I'm wearing a BLEACH cosplay. Hehe, I'm gonna be Rukia and have the sword. My dad bought the sword for me.**

**Genis: Why do your parents buy you weapons?**

**Me: Because they buy me anything I want just to keep me happy. Anyways, anything in my hand is a weapon. Besides, it's a fake sword. Real weapons aren't allowed at the convention.**

**Genis: She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything that is not originally in the game.**

* * *

"Huh, so this is what the inside of the Balacruf Mausoleum looks likes," I took in my surroundings.

"This is pretty cool! I feel like an explorer!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"…You always start out enthusiastic," Kratos stated.

"Let's just see how long it last this time," I added.

"Hey!" Lloyd shouted.

"I can hear the sound of wind…" Colette noted.

"Well, let's not stand around here. Monsters could attack at any time," I replied.

They decided to take my advice and start moving. I had to clip my hair back because the wind continued to blow it in my face. As we made our way through the ruin we ran into monsters and had to stop to solve the wind puzzles so that Raine could read the riddles on the wall. All and all, it took a while to get to the pinwheels.

'_I hope this battle goes well… I seem to have a tendency of getting hurt during this fights… Oh well, like Zelos says "Whatever happens, happens." Hopefully whatever happens won't get me killed.'_

I watched Raine and Genis as they tried to figure it out. It took a while but they did figure out the combination. I didn't help because, yet again, I was afraid they'd get suspicious. I was always careful about keeping secrets…Sometimes too careful, but I have been able to keep just about every secret I've had or been told. Although, sometimes it haunts me in my dreams… Er, whatever, I'll stop rambling and get back to the events.

As we walked up the stairs I realized something, how the heck am I going to be able to fight the Iapyx when it's a bird…thing. I couldn't use techs so I couldn't get in the air.

'_Damn my Earth origin…No, wait, I like Earth…sorta…'_

"We're finally at the altar…I'm sick of dungeons," Lloyd whined.

'_Poor Lloyd, he has no idea how many more dungeons he will have to go through.'_

"…You have no patience…" Kratos sighed.

It was really foggy around the area. But I didn't have time to comment on it because the evil, giant, bird thing called the Iapyx appeared. As soon as it appeared it attacked me. I dodged and tried to think of a way to hit it. Luckily, I still had my Cruxis Crystal on from all the battles we had while making our way there.

"…Stupid bird…can't even hit it…" I mumbled.

So, then I decided that instead of uselessly trying to hit it in the air, I'd wait for it to come down low enough for me to strike. That's what I did for the remainder of the battle, attack it when it wasn't to far up in the air. I felt pretty useless during the battle but at least I didn't get hurt too badly. That was an upside for the next battle to come. I'd be way more useful during the next battle.

"Chosen of Regeneration… you have done well in reaching this far. Now, offer your prayers at the alter," Remiel's voice echoed around us.

Colette nodded her head, "…Yes!"

Colette stepped up to the alter and prayed. I stood back and watched as the sweet, kind hearted Chosen took another step towards death. As much as I wanted to stop all this and guide them through only the necessary tasks, I knew I couldn't. This all had to happen or else the outcome of everything might not be good. I bite my lip as I watched everything occur.

"The end of your journey is close. Hurry and become a true angel. Do not disappoint me…" Those were Remiel's last words before he left.

'_You're life is close to the end, but not this journey.'_

Yeah, I was really bitter towards Remiel. I mean, if you knew what his true intentions were then you'd be the same. I really wanted to hurry up and kill the sucker. He was one of the biggest asses in the game.

"A true angel…" Colette breathed.

"What is it?" Lloyd asked.

Colette turned around and smiled, "Ah… nothing. I was just…thinking when I become a true angel, it'll be amazing!"

'_She really doesn't deserve to go through all this. Too bad I can't do anything to stop it. Hopefully, my presence won't change anything dramatically and everything will work out fine.'_

"I wonder how many more seals there are?" Genis said.

"That, we don't know…" Raine started to ponder on the question.

"At any rate, all we can do is keep going," Kratos stated and started walking down the stairs.

"Though there can't be many seals left. He did say that the end of the journey was close," I added.

We followed after Kratos and made our way out of the ruins…almost.

"Stop!" Sheena shouted.

We all turned towards the shout. Mostly everyone was surprised. I was surprised for a different reason than the others. The shout had kind of startled me because I didn't know exactly when she would show up.

"That voice…" Lloyd trailed.

"Oh, no…" Genis muttered.

Sheena ran down the steps towards us.

"This day has finally come. This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard…" Sheena started.

"Oh, you're here, too!" Colette chirped, stepping forward.

"S…stay back! Don't move! Don't touch anything!" Sheena shouted, again.

'_She's probably afraid Colette will trigger something again… like with the maintenance hatch… That actually hurt…I'd kinda be afraid as well if I was Sheena.'_

"Now that we've finally become friends, why do we have to fight?" Colette naively asked.

'_Oh, how innocent and naïve… Man, I feel horrible for not saying anything… But at least I can move things along faster so that she doesn't have to suffer for a long while.'_

"Since when are we?… I have no intention of befriending you!… Prepare yourselves!" Sheena got ready for a fight.

"Get ready," Kratos stated.

Sheena charged for us after summoning her guardian. I pulled out my weapon and charged for the guardian. I still had no intention of fighting Sheena. Lloyd, Colette and I worked together to take down the guardian. The fight basically went the same way as the last time we fought the with Sheena, only this time Lloyd and I had Colette's help and there were more injuries. Those guardian were strong!

Anyways, Sheena stood defeated. "…Argh! Why… why can't I win?"

"Goodness and love will always win!" Genis recited.

I really wanted to say, "Well, there's no winning for me then." because of the love part but I didn't want to spoil it.

Lloyd turned to Genis, "Genis, please don't bring up that stupid Dwarven Vow!" Lloyd groaned.

" "Goodness"?! What do you mean, "goodness"?! If you're good, I'm good as well!" Sheena snarled.

"Not you, too! Everyone, stop saying corny thing!" Lloyd responded.

I wanted to agree with him but Sheena started talking before I did.

"What do you know?! When you regenerate the world, my country will be destroyed! I won't let that happen… I swear!" Sheena explained.

"Wait. What are you talking about? If I regenerate the world everyone will be saved… right?" Colette replied.

"…This world will be saved!" Sheena ran off.

Everyone was shocked and confused, except for me. I didn't show it either. Lloyd ran to the spot where Sheena once was.

"Stop! Who are you?! So, you're not alone?!" Raine shouted.

"This world? What did she mean?" Lloyd wondered.

"That girl…is she…" Kratos muttered, slightly dazed.

Everyone turned to him.

"Do you know her?" Genis asked.

"…No. Let's get out of here," Kratos replied.

We started walking but I noticed Raine gave me a look of suspicion. I tried to ignore it, knowing that she would be too preoccupied with Colette to remember. As we walked out of the ruins Colette fell. Lloyd rushed to catch her.

"Colette!" he shouted.

"It's the Angel Toxicosis again. Let's hurry and let her rest," Raine informed.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked.

Colette sighed, "I'm sorry to trouble everybody again…"

"Don't worry about that, but-" He tried to help Colette stand but they both lost their balance and fell.

"Owww," Lloyd moaned.

Genis rushed over, "What are you doing, Lloyd?! Are you okay, Colette?" Genis asked.

I walked over and knelt down next to Colette. She had a puzzled look on her face. Genis came over as well.

"Colette? Wh… what's wrong? Did it hurt? Did you hurt yourself?" Genis asked.

'_Ah, that's right… Colette looses feeling now… Which reminds me that I need to take off my Cruxis Crystal soon.'_

"N…no. I'm fine. Hehe… I just blanked out for a moment," Colette replied.

We set up camp for the night. Genis was asleep almost immediately after dinner. Poor kid, must have been really tired. He was only twelve and the youngest by a couple of years, so I didn't blame him.

I knew Lloyd was going to try that 'hot-no-cold-no-hot' trick, so I decided to make the coffee for him since Genis was already asleep. I saw Lloyd lead Colette away from the camp sight and come back soon after. I was pouring the coffee into the cups when Lloyd came over. I handed him the two cups and smiled.

"Thought you and Colette might want something to drink. It's hot coffee," I said.

He smiled back and took the cups, "Thanks."

He then walked back to where he left Colette.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Kratos asked.

I turned around to face him. "Lloyd was thinking of doing it anyways. I just made them the coffee."

"I see… You should get some rest, we'll be traveling to Luin in the morning," Kratos suggested.

"Alright," I yawned.

I found a spot near the fire and fell asleep.

* * *

_I was standing in a clean and gleaming white building. The room I was standing in was round and had eight hallways connecting to it. Everything looked the same. If you were to be blind folded and turned in a random direction then you wouldn't be able to tell where you were facing at the beginning._

_I made a complete turn, examining the room. "What the…"_

"_Sarah…" a faint voice breathed._

_I looked around frantically. "What… the heck is going on?"_

"_Sarah…" The voice called again._

_I looked around and finally decided to try and follow the voice. There were two hallways in front of me and I went down the one on the right. As I traveled down the hall everything started getting darker until I couldn't see anything anymore._

"_This is really starting to freak me out…" I whispered to the darkness._

_After walking for a while more, the darkness was all of a sudden cut and everything was that wretched, gleaming white again. As soon as I stepped into the light I heard the faint noise of dripping. Like water dripping from the kitchen faucet. I followed the dripping noise._

"_Seriously, I'm too curious for my own good… I'm gonna get myself killed one of these days because of it…" I muttered as I followed the noise._

_I then started seeing small puddles of… blood?_

"_Oh my…" I breathed, my voice trembling and my eyes wide._

_I continued to follow the puddles of blood. They kept getting bigger the farther I followed. I started to tremble with the more blood I saw. I looked ahead and saw a figure hunched over another. I paused for a moment and shifted. Then, I ran towards the figures. I stopped and looked to see who they were. My eyes widened as I realized who they were. The one hunched over was Kuro and he looked really sad and devastated, he was holding his head. And, the one laying on the ground, dead… was me. I was covered in my own blood. _

_I took a step back from shock. I closed my eyes and shook my head, hoping that it would disappear when I opened my eyes. But, when I did open my eyes, it was worse than before. The places were switched, Kuro was the one dead, while I was the one hunched over and crying._

"_No… This isn't real… This can't be real… Please don't let it be real…" I shook my head._

_I was going to scream but, like in all my other dreams, I couldn't. In every single one of my dreams I was never able to scream, no matter how hard I tried. It would always come out as a exhale of air. It reminded me of when Colette lost her voice in the game. _

_Then, everything blacked out and I felt someone shaking me. _

* * *

"Sarah, wake up."

My eyes snapped open and I sat up.

"Sarah, are you okay?" Colette asked, worriedly.

I jumped slightly and looked over at her. I sighed and put on a fake smiled, "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Oh, okay," Colette replied.

I looked around and saw that everyone but Lloyd was up. I breathing was a bit ragged from the nightmare. I moved my hand up to my neck and kept it there.

'_It was just a dream… Just a dream… Dammit! Why can't I scream in my dreams?!'_

I didn't remove my hand from my throat until I was calm enough to. I clasped my pendant in my hand and started trying to get the nightmare out of my head.

'_That damned nightmare is going to haunt me for a while… Even though it was a bit clichéd, it was still scary as hell.'_

After finally straightening out my thoughts, I got ready to start traveling to Luin.

'_I'm finally going to be able to see Sammy again.'_

I was mostly focused on that, since I had been missing Sammy quite a bit. So, when everyone was ready we headed out for Luin and I started logging the latest events of the journey.

'_That dream… I should just ignore it. None of my dreams ever mean anything…So, hopefully this one doesn't mean anything either…'_

* * *

**Me: That dream really was clichéd. **

**Genis: Shouldn't you start getting ready for the convention?**

**Me: You're right! But first, sleep. I haven't had any yet.**

**Genis: Alright, good night.**

**Me: Please review, I like to hear what you have to say. **


	17. Luin, The Parished Town

**Me: Hello people! I am back!**

**Genis: So how did the convention go?**

**Me: Awesomely! Though I missed the sign up for the cosplay contest. A lot of people kept asking to take my picture. My sword turned out great, too! I was in the bleach photo shoot. I also bought some really cool bracelets and phone decorations. I also had pockey! It was seriously fun but I had to go home early because my feet got really sore from the shoes I was wearing. My next convention is already planned out.**

**Genis: Geez, how many are you going to go to?**

**Me: I'm going to keep going to them until I get bored of them and decide I don't want to go any more. On another note, my little kitty is evil! For three days straight she's tripped me and let me tell you, the ground is hard! I fell twice the first day, though the first time was my fault because I tried to slide to a stop on carpet in my socks and ended up slipping. The other two days the little kitty made me trip. **

**Genis: I'm not going to comment on that. She owns nothing.**

**Me: Except anything not originally in the game. Also the underlined quotes are Sammy.**

* * *

My first thought when seeing Luin was, "Oh my gosh." My second thought was, "No… Dammit! Sammy was suppose to be here!"

I cursed myself for forgetting this was going to happen. I bit back the tears that wanted to fall. I felt everyone's eyes on me. Since they thought it was my home they probably felt sorry for me. I couldn't stand the feel of their looks on me and ran off before they could stop me. I ran though Luin looking for Sammy or Noishe, hoping they were okay. My search didn't last long because I found Sheena wounded. She had a large gash on her right side. There were many cuts and bruises covering her body. Next to Sheena was Sammy. She wasn't injured too badly. I ran over to them and knelt down.

"Are you two okay?… Stupid question, of course you're not," I said.

"Sarah?… If you want to finish me off then here's your chance…" Sheena responded.

"I'm not going to finish you off… I'm not the kind of person to kill someone that's injured… Besides, by the looks of it, Sammy thinks of you as a friend," I gestured towards Sammy, who picked up her head at the mention of her name.

"Wh…What?! But, we're enemies!" Sheena gaped.

I held out an apple gel to her, "Raine will be here soon. In the meantime, take this."

Sheena looked at me like I was crazy, but I just smiled back.

"You are the strangest person I've ever met," Sheena took the apple gel and ate it.

"I take that as a compliment, thank you," I replied.

Sheena just shook her head and I shifted over to give Sammy an apple gel as well. While I was tending to Sammy, I heard the others running over. I turned around and the others came to a stop. Noishe was with them, much to my relief. Lloyd walked over to us.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked.

Colette walked over and saw Sammy's and Sheena's condition.

"They're hurt! Professor, please heal them!" Colette begged.

"I will, but first, I want you to tell me what happened here," Raine directed the last part

towards Sheena.

Raine healed Sammy while Sheena explained what happened. As that went on I took in everything. It was all in ruins. The more I saw and heard the tighter I clenched my fists. It was horrible, I had never experienced anything like this. I had always been sitting safely at home. While war, destruction, betrayal, and all that other stuff happened I was living a life where I was taken care of and spoiled by my family. I had never known or experienced the horrors of the world. But now, I was looking at the result of them. Instead of feeling sad I felt anger. At that point, I had finally realized that whenever I was sad, I'd show anger instead.

Then we heard the shout of the person that was running from Clara. I wasn't sure if it'd be the priest or the traveler, but when I turned my head, I saw the priest. Everyone was surprised to see Clara, except for me.

"Th…that's…!" Lloyd gasped.

"It's Clara! She managed to get all the way here!" Raine breathed.

Sheena jumped in front of Clara and got in a fighting stance to protect the priest.

"Stay back you monster!" Sheena cried.

Clara knocked Sheena to the side easily. Sheena cried out in pain.

"Dammit!" Lloyd swore.

Colette released her wings and flew in front of Clara. "Clara, please, clam down!"

Clara struck Colette down but then escaped, stumbling down one of the bridges and out of sight.

"Colette, are you okay?" Genis asked.

We all ran over to Colette and Sheena, hoping they were okay. Colette sat up and looked

at us.

"Y…yes," Colette answered Genis' question.

I walked over and helped Colette stand up.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Kratos informed, inspecting Sheena's wounds.

"You're right. Professor, please heal her," Lloyd said, turning to Raine.

"Professor, please," Colette begged.

I turned to look at Raine. The look I gave her was one asking the same thing as the others.

"…Fine. But, I swear, you're all way too softhearted for your own good," Raine sighed.

She stepped forward, casting a healing spell on Sheena. Most of Sheena's injuries were healed quickly and she was able to stand up.

"…Why…why did you save me?" Sheena asked, confused and surprised.

"Probably for the same reason you saved that man," Lloyd replied.

"…Thanks," Sheena paused, looking slightly uncomfortable. I realized that she had decided she wants to join our group now instead of later. "I know it's a selfish, unreasonable thing to say at this point, but um I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Lloyd inquired.

"I owe the people of this city for food and lodging. Please. Help me save these people. If you agree, I'll declare a truce with you and help in anyway I can," Sheena explained.

"All right," Lloyd agreed.

"Lloyd, are you serious?" Raine asked, incredulously.

"I agree with Lloyd," Colette put in.

"Me, too," I added.

"Colette, Sarah, not you, too!" Raine responded.

"What about you?" Lloyd turned to Kratos.

"I see no problem with it," Kratos replied.

Genis frowned, looking around at us all, "Ah…um…I'm sorry, Raine!"

"Fine! Do as you wish," Raine replied, annoyed. "I suppose if we look at it another way, it does mean we can keep a close eye on her."

Sheena smirked at this comment. "Heh. You better watch out so you don't lose your head while you sleep."

Raine glared at her and I felt the tension between them heat up. I stepped between them and put my hands up in a defensive position.

"Okay, before this turns into a fight, I suggest we start up camp. It'll be dark soon and it doesn't seem like any of the building are stable enough to be in," I said, trying to keep a fight from beginning.

"She's right. Let's find a spot near the city and begin to set up camp," Kratos agreed and walked off.

The others followed but I lingered back and took one last look at the city. I sighed and caught up with the others when Sammy tugged on my glove.

It didn't take long to find a good spot to set up camp. I was sent out to get firewood again and Sammy followed.

"I'm glad to see you again, Sammy… I'm sorry that I forgot that that was going to happen to Luin. You got hurt because of that," I said, angry with myself.

"Now, now… It's alright, you are human after all. You can't expect to not make mistakes… Especially when your brother isn't here. You use to learn from his mistakes but now you're learning from your own."

"I know, but I still feel bad about forgetting… I wonder what Kuro's doing…" I pondered.

"How you can get distracted from the original topic so easily it beyond me."

"Oops, sorry. It's just, I really want to see Kuro again… I haven't had contact with him since Palmacosta… I hope he's okay…" I replied.

"If you two are as similar as I think, then he'll be hard to kill… You're both too stubborn and hard headed to die."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Figure it out."

"I'll just take it as a compliment," I said, unsure.

"You should hurry with the firewood before the others get worried."

"Good idea."

I finished picking up the firewood and returned to camp with Sammy. After putting down the firewood, I sat down with Sammy. I leaned back against Sammy's soft fur and gaze at the sky. My mind drifted off to the events to come. I was mentally preparing myself for anything that might happen. I was thinking out just about every outcome I could think of and playing it through my head. Though I gave myself a headache after a while and decided to just forget it and let myself enjoy the beauty of the sky.

"Hey, Sarah, you okay?" Lloyd asked, walking up to me.

I sighed, "For the most part, yeah. I know we're going to save the people that were taken to the ranch so that makes me feel better."

"…What about your family? Colette told me that you live in the outskirts of Luin," Lloyd said.

'_I should've expected him to ask something like this. Damn!'_

I bit my lip and lied. "We didn't live that too far off from Luin to where the Desians wouldn't attack. So they were probably attacked… I couldn't bring myself to see what had happened… Can we… not talk about this?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I brought it up," Lloyd replied.

"It's okay."

There was a silence before I stood up. I decided to do some training to burn off some of the anger I held towards the Desians at that point. I was about to walk off to find an area to train in when Lloyd stopped me.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Gonna get some training done," I answered simply.

"Can I come? I want to get stronger so that we can save the people at the ranch," Lloyd said.

I smiled, "Sure, It's always good to have a training partner."

"Would you like me to help?" Kratos asked, walking over.

Lloyd and I turned to him, then glanced at each other.

"Yeah, sounds good," Lloyd nodded.

"Follow me," Kratos said.

We followed him to a good location to start training. I slipped on my Cruxis Crystal on the way. Sammy followed me, wanting to see how my training had come along. During our training session Sammy sat on the sidelines and watched. She would always make a comment whenever I lost my footing and fell. Apparently, she found it fun to provoke me whenever I messed up.

When we returned to the camp sight, Genis had already finished dinner. I had removed my Cruxis Crystal on the way back. I felt a lot better after training. I had always found it strange that whenever I trained I always felt better. I guessed that that was just my way of releasing my anger or something like that.

So anyways, while we ate, nobody really talked. It was an uncomfortable silence for me. I really wanted to say something but it didn't seem like the time to say anything. I just let the rest of the night go by in silence and fell asleep with Sammy.

The next morning we got ready and headed towards the ranch. Most of the way there I was out of it, thinking about what would happen at the ranch. This was the ranch I hated most. But I would feel better after finishing it off. The trip to the ranch wasn't long. We hid near the ranch and checked out the surrounds.

"The security is intense. It's completely different from the last time," Genis noted.

"No kidding," I muttered.

He was right, it was hard to find a spot where we wouldn't be noticed.

"Yeah. Even if we get inside…" Lloyd trailed.

"Hmm… There is a way though…" Raine informed.

"Professor, I bet you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking," Lloyd responded.

"That's a bit risky but I don't see any other option," I added.

"What? What are we going to do?" Colette asked, confused.

"We'll disguise ourselves as Desians and sneak in," Lloyd answered.

'_Espionage…Sounds fun…'_

"…I see the gears in your head move quickly only in times like this," Raine smirked.

"…What's that suppose to mean?" Lloyd questioned.

"She's saying that the only time you're not slow is at times like this," I explained, knowing no one else would.

Lloyd was about to retort to that but Colette started talking before him.

"Oh, I see! If we look like Desians, we won't get caught!" Colette chirped.

"Well, well. That's quite a daring plan, Raine," Sheena commented.

"I don't think this is the best plan either, but do we have any other choice?" Raine questioned.

"…The Desian patrol is here. What shall we do?" Kratos asked.

"Let's do it!" Sheena said.

"Yeah!" Colette agreed.

"Let's go for it," I added.

"Okay, let's hide behind those trees and ambush them," Lloyd nodded.

Everyone agreed and we hid behind the trees, waiting for the right moment to strike. The Desians stopped to take a look around the area. There was one mage and two spear soldiers. I slipped on my Cruxis Crystal when no one was looking.

"Let's hurry and take care of this!" Lloyd whispered and charged in.

I followed after Lloyd unsheathing my daggers as I ran. Raine and Genis stayed hidden behind the trees to cast. I took on one to the spear soldiers. I slashed down, vertically but the soldier blocked with her spear. I tried to kick her but she dodged to the left and swiped her spear down, diagonally at me. I moved out of the way but received a small cut on my shoulder. I then dived in for a counter attack and plunged my dagger right through her throat. I pulled it out and saw the body hit the ground. I cleaned the blade of my dagger off on the grass and sheathed it. The other were already finished and Raine was gathering up all the uniforms. I followed the others as we made our escape back to Luin.

As we were setting up camp I removed my Cruxis Crystal. I hadn't noticed until then, but my emotions had been dulled down incredibly. I immediately felt the guilt of killing that soldier. Though instead of showing it, I just bit back all the emotions I felt for killing that soldier in cold blood. I knew I couldn't have an emotional time then. I just had to bite it all back and keep it to myself, just like I had done all the time back on Earth. I decided to think of the people I'd be protecting and saving instead of the ones I'd have to kill in order to do that. Though it was harder to bite back this time.

Later on, we all gathered around the fire to discuss the plan for the next day.

"We're finally going to infiltrate the ranch," Genis said.

"Wait. We have to decide who will be the Desian," Raine informed.

"What do you mean, Professor?" Lloyd asked.

"Only two of the Desian uniforms we just obtained looks like it can be used. So everyone else is going to have to be prisoners," Raine explained.

"Me! Me! I'll be a Desian!" Lloyd childishly called.

Everyone except for Colette and I gave Lloyd a look of disgust. I just sighed and shook my head.

"…This is not a game," Kratos stated.

"Sarah and I will be the Desians," Raine informed.

"Wh…what?! Why me?!" I asked, not wanting to dress up in the uniform.

The uniform actually looked like it did in the game. I really didn't want to wear it. It was too revealing for my liking.

"They're both female uniforms and Sheena already has one. Also, Colette must be a "captive" because she is the Chosen," answered Raine.

"Do I have to?" I grimaced.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but we have to save the people in the ranch," Sheena put in.

"Aw, man," I complained.

"We should get some rest for tomorrow's infiltration," Raine suggested.

Everyone agreed and found a spot near the fire to rest. Sammy laid down and I leaned against her soft fur, using her as a pillow basically. I tried to fall asleep but I couldn't. After a while of trying I sat up and looked around. Kratos had volunteered to be night watch so he was the only one awake aside from myself. Even Sammy was asleep. I stood up and was about to take a walk but Kratos stopped me.

"You should be resting," He said.

"I know, but I'm having trouble falling asleep. I'm just gonna take a walk to clear my head," I replied.

"Don't go off too far, and be careful," He ordered.

"Okay," I agreed and walked off.

I continued walking until I found a small clearing near the camp site. There was a boulder, perfect for sitting on, in the clearing. I sat down on it and gazed at the sky. My mind was clouded with thoughts about the Desian I had killed, Kuro, what would happen, and many other things. I really wanted to forget about all of it, but doing that wouldn't be easy. I mean, it's not like their's a restart button for your brain. it's be really weird if there was though. Back to the point! I was just really distracted by those thoughts.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see who it was. I was a bit surprised to see Lloyd walking up to me with two cups.

"You're pretty easy to find, you know," Lloyd smiled.

"Really? My hiding ability must have decreased greatly since the last time someone commented on it," I replied, smiling.

He laughed slightly and handed me a cup. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," I took the cup and moved over so her could sit on the boulder.

He sat down and said, "It's coffee incase you're wondering."

"I've never had coffee before," I commented and took a sip.

"So? What do you think?" He asked.

"It's good," I answered.

"Good… So, what are you doing here?" He questioned,

"Clearing my mind…You?" I inquired.

"I woke up and saw that you weren't there. Kratos told me that you went for a walk so I thought I'd bring you something to drink."

"Thanks," I took another sip and turned my gaze back to the sky.

"Tomorrow we're going to infiltrate the ranch, how do you feel?"

"Anxious… tense… Either of those would work," I nodded.

"We'll save the people at the ranch. We just have to try our best," Lloyd encouraged.

Usually if I was back with my old friends I'd be the party pooper and ask, "What if our best isn't good enough?" But, I didn't want to say that. I knew we'd save the people of the ranch.

"Right, we just have to try our best," I agreed. There was a pause before I spoke to break the silence. "You know, it's strange. Usually I have a hard time trusting and it takes about a year or two to become my friend and gain my trust. But you and the others have gained my trust in no time and became my friends instantly."

"…Why did you have a hard time trusting until now?" He wondered.

"I'm not really sure… I guess I was just too cautious about it or something," I replied.

"Well, I've told you before that you can trust me," He smiled.

"I know, and I'm taking your word for it," I took another sip.

"We should get back to the camp site and get some rest," Lloyd suggested.

"Agreed, I've cleared my head and we're going to need our energy for tomorrow."

I stood up and walked back to the camp site with Lloyd. He instantly fell asleep and I took a few minutes but fell asleep soon after he did.

As long as I had someone I could trust, the journey wouldn't be as hard as it could be.

* * *

**Me: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy with stuff.**

**Genis: So now that school's going to start, how long will it take for you to update.**

**Me: Not sure. But things are going to be hectic starting Monday. I start school and there's a lot of paper work to be done. I wonder how things will go. Before school ended last year I heard that they might get rid of eighth grade algebra AKA the eighth grade advanced class. So I might not get to be in algebra.**

**Genis: I guess you'll just have to wait and see.**

**Me: Yeah… Well, review please. I like to hear what you have to say. **


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